The Jaune Archive: To Survive and Prosper
by The Rade Blunner
Summary: This is the story of Jaune Arc, The Hero of Remnant. An esteemed legend among the people of Remnant whose exploits have been told for years. He's a symbol of hope and justice to the righteous while his name strikes fear into the hearts of evil men. Remnant never deserved a hero so brave, strong and handsome. But unfortunately for him... he didn't ask for any of this.
1. Beginning of An Arc

**Salutations everyone and welcome to my first story!**

 **This fic will be a retelling of canon RWBY; like many other fics, it uses the 'strong-Jaune' formula...with the cost of turning his motivations into a 180. What I mean by that is that in contrast to Canon!Jaune who wants to be a hero but lacked the skills to become one, this Jaune, meanwhile, is exceptionally skilled but has no desire to be a hero and prefers to stay out of the dangers that regularly occur in a world of bloody evolution. He'll also have some slight personality changes, his canon demeanor is basically described as 'idealistic yet foolish' while here he is 'cynical and witty', though he will still act like his canon counterpart (keyword: act).**

 **Jaune's character and the writing is inspired by Sandy Mitchell's 'Ciaphas Cain' series of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe and works inspired by it, such as the Mass Effect fanfic 'Accidental Hero of the Galaxy' by Random Equinox, where a self-deprecating, cowardly protagonist in a dangerous universe details his adventures in a series of private memoirs which are being edited by another character (usually a close friend or a significant other) who provides commentary and additional insights, despite the protagonist's efforts, they still end up in danger, forcing them to save the day. This story will follow its format from the sarcastic first-person narrative to the in-universe editorial, along with its footnotes.**

 **Cain!Jaune fics are not new, in fact Coeur Al'Aran's "Beacon Civil War" and Aleandrex' "Arc of The Revolution" were direct and indirect Cain-inspired fics respectively and they're both fantastic; I recommend you go check them out. This fic meanwhile invokes the question of: What if Jaune Cains his way to the events of the show? This premise was actually attempted before in Kartofel von Kouch's "Jaune Arc: Hero of Vytal", albeit it dropped the memoir-like writing in favor of a third-person narrative with shifting perspective. Sadly, the story died before it could conclude the initiation event; it's a shame because the story showed a lot of promise so now I have to try to answer the previous question myself.**

 **Keep in mind that this is my first serious fic, so there might be errors here and there, and this very chapter may be even subject to a rewrite, so feedback is appreciated.**

 **Anyhow, enjoy reading!**

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 **EDIT: To celebrate the first anniversary of this fic, I made a Spotify playlist based on the songs Jaune listened to through this story. Feel free to listen to it:**

 **(Replace the commas with dots)**

 **open,spotify,com/playlist/3dV6TxBvxG6SsZ3r97HXVO?si=abkz8i3xROK1LYhvg01pew**

 **Youtube Mirror:**

 **youtube,com / playlist?list=PLx-5liPQvheIpI_fglcpwH-rVE4CkOJVw**

* * *

 ** _Editorial Note:_**

 _It's been years since the Fall of Salem, Remnant has met a golden age of peace and Grimm activity is at its lowest and civilizations affected have recovered. All thanks to the brave heroes who risked their lives to save the world they live in. Their stories are still being told to this day. Among these stories, in particular, stand out more than the others._

 _Commissar Jaune Arc, The Hero of Remnant. The 8th child and only son of Caiaphas and Ambervale Arc. A simple boy from a lineage of heroes, who not only lives up to his ancestor's legacy but became one of the greatest in history. His exploits are detailed in his published memoirs: "The Bane of Salem: A Knight's Tale" which was co-written by his eldest sister, Bleu Arc. While I can confirm that the stories about him are indeed true since I was present when it all occurred, they were usually presented inaccurately and are often embellished._

 _I cannot say that I blame him, Jaune was simply too humble for his own good that he often has difficulties in seeing his own accomplishments, never feeling deserving of his own praise and a_ _dmits to himself as a cowardly, manipulating fraud and an occasional thief who's primarily motivated by self-interest despite his remarkable feats_ _. Despite this, he is genuinely one of the most exceptional Huntsmen to date; being able to prevail against the worst of Grimm, bandits,_ _criminals,_ _terrorists, and even unspeakable eldritch beings. Remnant would have suffered a terrible fate without his vital and significant contribution._

 _It should be also noted that he is his own worst critic, as everyone was able to acknowledge his accomplishments, save for himself, who dismisses them as nothing more than a result of luck, coincidence, instinct or an error on the opposition's part and he often emphasizes on his shortcomings. Admittedly, I once assumed this notion but only because I was admittedly arrogant and prideful at my younger years. Eventually, I mellowed up to him and was even shocked to learn of his insecurities and ulterior motives._

 _However, contrary to his own self-deprecatory beliefs - he was, and I say this with absolute sincerity, the most compassionate and altruistic person I have ever met. Over time, his compulsive apprehensions noticeably fade as he willingly puts himself before others in life-threatening situations where he could have easily withdrawn from. Thus, putting me in the conclusion that his claims and excuses to downplay or even deny his efforts were nothing more than his lack of self-esteem. Therefore, accounts of his heroism remain veracious, and that is to say nothing of the fact that the acknowledgments of his own imperfections have made him one of the most sincere heroes worthy of the title_ _It is said that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it, and there is no other individual that I know of that is more courageous than Jaune Arc._

 _Before his recent disappearance, he entrusted me with a series of journals that he has been writing for almost his entire life. Unlike his published memoirs which are mostly written based on the public's depiction of him, these are written in a candid manner and present the events as they actually transpired - most of the time. I've taken the initiative to edit them and create a compilation of these accounts in his honor and to reminiscent of our times together as well as so readers may gain insight on Jaune's peculiar take on heroism. I shall henceforth name it_ _"The Jaune Archive". (Please note that I am aware of the wordplay in the title and I want to clarify that it was completely unintentional, but fitting nonetheless.)_

 _While the contents are detailed enough for itself, keep in mind that these accounts were written in Jaune's own viewpoints. As such, he has a tendency to leave omissions and discrepancies while describing events with his own personal biases, occasionally even outright lying about them. So I highly recommend you to take his own writing with a pinch of salt, especially during his attempts to describe himself. Fortunately, I took the liberty to add annotations and occasional excerpts from various sources to provide clarity, context and better coherence to Jaune's self-centered narrative for the reader's convenience. That aside, I shall allow him to tell his story with his own words._

 _Before we begin, I would like to give a_ _cautious reminder to the readers; due to the amount of sensitive and confidential information included in this accounts as well as to ensure public stability and Jaune's reputation as an inspiration for Huntsmen, these documents are strictly classified for the time being, with only a select few individuals granted to have the authorization to read. Any violation is punishable by international law._

 _The first volume of this archive will cover Jaune's life in Beacon Academy, as well as the friends and enemies he made along the way._

 ** _Weiss Schnee_**

 ** _Chief Executive Officer, Schnee Dust Compa_ _ny_ ™**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Beginning of an Arc**

* * *

" _Blessed art the cowardly, for they know the perils of the world. Whereas the brave would foolishly storm toward it."_

 ** _-The Book of Light, verse 276_**

Every time I look back at my childhood, it's almost impossible not to have the urge to strangle my younger self for all the stupid things I did. One particular memory is when I was stargazing with my family and saw a shooting star. They say that if you make a wish when one passes, it would eventually come true. Being the naive child I was, I wished that I would become a hero like my parents.

Few years passed, I wised up and regretted the wish. I realized that being a hero wasn't as glamorous as the stories envisioned it would it be. They barely go to exciting adventures, becoming rich and famous on the way; instead, they usually end on suicide missions and end up dying in the worst ways possible, and are usually remembered as another shameful causality. If they do survive it usually means they are fit to be sent to another suicide mission and probably die there instead. Otherwise, the cycle continues until they stop, realize that it wasn't worth it and retire while they still could.

The efforts of the so-called heores barely change anything; even if they do, they are eventually undone which would render them pointless. The only reason why my parents are still alive despite being known heroes is that they were smart enough to choose to live a modest life and only take jobs that don't guarantee their children getting orphaned.

Face it, we're stuck in a never-ending war with Grimm, who already outnumber us ten-to-one, and they still keep growing every second. These are creatures that are attracted to negative energy that people had to sleep with guns under their pillows in case Grimm finds for simply having nightmares. Even if you do avoid them, you still have to deal with bandits and terrorists, who are more or less worse and are rampant around civilization. It wouldn't be so bad if the kingdoms weren't so above their heads that they're still on each other's throats ever since the Empire fell. The world just wasn't worth saving.

Therefore, I have decided that a hero's life was not for me and chose to stay with my boring yet safe life at home. Just fool around, play video games, read comic books, maybe help with the farm when I feel like to, and not get myself killed for trying to be something I'm not and will never be. Most people didn't even know that Caiaphas Arc had a son anyway and my status of obscurity didn't bother me that much; it keeps me away from trouble so I don't have really have a good reason to complain about it.

That didn't stop Dad from training me and unlocking my aura though, since it was mandatory for Arc family members to be trained and have their aura unlocked, regardless if you're pursuing to become a Huntsman or not. Because Remnant is a dangerous place and mommy and daddy won't always be there for you. I can see where he is coming from, it's a pain to look after eight children while living in a countryside that is occasionally riddled with Grimm, and honestly, I had no issue with getting my aura. I'm aware that it attracts Grimm because it's the manifestation of the soul, and Grimm wants them souls, they would still want you dead regardless and if something wants to kill me, then I might as well last.

As for Dad's training—I've managed to do well enough to survive against Grimm on my own. Perhaps I was too good because training became increasingly challenging with Dad holding back less and less. I managed to beat him several times, enough to become Huntsman material. **[1]** He told me to keep it up and that my childhood wish would indeed come true someday. I assured myself that the make-a-wish stuff with the shooting star were a bunch of silly superstitions and I shouldn't worry about it becoming true anytime soon.

And to my horror, it kind of did.

It all started with a day like any other, I was trying to mind my own business when Dad told me to make myself useful and run for some errands at the nearby town of Podunk. Since I had nothing to do because the holonet was down due to the CCT being under maintenance and that Rouge hid my comic books again and I couldn't bother to waste time and sweat searching every inch of the house just to find them for the umpteenth time. **[2]** I accepted the task and headed towards Podunk. I had no reason to worry then. Podunk was a small and boring town with nothing interesting ever happening there. Life there was the same every day. People go to work while others stay at home, children playing on the streets, all that kind of stuff. The Grimm don't even bother attacking the place because of how little negativity its denizens are experiencing.

Little did everyone including myself know that it wouldn't be a typical day for long.

When I went to the bank to withdraw some money, a man in a mariachi outfit and a decorated skull mask with four other masked men came out of the blue and declared a robbery. The local authorities weren't able to do anything because as it turned out, they were bound and gagged shortly before the heist took place. And even if they weren't, they would still be useless because this was the only serious crime to occur so far. Not to mention the CCT was inconveniently still down so no one was able to call for help. When they opened the vault, the guy in charge of the hostages got carried away with the money they discovered, I took this opportunity to knock him out and ran to the exit. I managed to escape until I ended up running into an Ursa—not just any Ursa, but an Ursa Major. I turned back and ran to town with the Ursa following me.

I really didn't know what I was thinking at that time, I was too busy panicking to even care that I put the town in even greater danger. Thankfully, most of the locals were hiding indoors when it all happened and those who weren't at least did not get caught into the fight. The rest of the bandits came out of the bank and they all engaged the Ursa. Three out of five bandits were killed, including the leader, who was trying to murder me with his billhook machetes/shotguns, but I was able to fend him off thanks to Dad's intense training. Before he knew it, he was mauled by the Ursa because he was too occupied trying to at least land a hit on me. By a stroke of luck, I somehow manage to decapitate the Ursa and lived to tell the tale. The surviving pair of bandits were routed out and were eventually found and arrested by Pucelle's sheriff department.

Next thing I know, the town regarded me as a hero who simultaneously foiled a bandit and Grimm attack, when all I did was run around defending myself from anything that tried to come near me. I didn't even intend to save the town, I was mostly concerned with preserving my own skin and the bandits only lost mostly because I was stupid enough to lure the Ursa into town instead of running anywhere else. If I had known that bandits were about to raid Podunk, I would've stayed at home. But I knew that telling them that won't do any good, so I just nervously smiled, waved and went with the flow.

Becoming a hero was just a stupid childhood dream when I wanted to be like my parents and the comic book heroes I used to look up to. One of the reasons I gave up the dream is because I realized that I will never be worthy enough to become one. I never even cared about being selfless and altruistic, it was just the thrill and the adventures that used to get me interested in becoming a hero; saving lives and fighting evil were just excuses to make me feel good about myself while becoming famous and beloved in the process. Now I found myself getting those things and I can't help but feel bad about it.

I'm just glad the whole thing is over and that I'm still in one piece. Unfortunately, word about my 'heroics' went viral and almost immediately after the CCT went back up, someone posted a video on the holonet of me fending off the bandit leader and killing the Ursa Major. Even worse when I realized the bandit I just defeated was one of Vacou's most wanted by the name of 'El Segador', so not only I managed to save Podunk by beheading an Alpha-Class Grimm—but I also got an infamous bandit lord killed without knowing who he was. Why was he on the northern part of Eastern Sanus was beyond me. **[3]**

It didn't take long for the Headmaster of Beacon Academy: Ozpin, to take notice of my recent exploit, he was impressed enough to recommend me to his school which my father horrifyingly concurred. I've been trying to avoid combat schools for all my life—they put you into dangerous assignments, have you: share classes and compete with bloodthirsty nutjobs, fight the worst monstrosities in Remnant while everyone casually watches, endure hours of boring lessons before giving you piles of tedious homework, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I've successfully convinced my parents that they were not worth my time and that I'm better off being home-schooled and have them personally train me instead. Besides, Viola, Vert, Blanche, and Noir didn't have to go. Sadly, I won't get the same results here because Beacon is not like other schools, it was one of a kind—the most prestigious combat academy on Sanus, only the best of the best have the privilege to study there, which is why I don't belong in that place. But Dad thought that I wasn't going to have my 'talents' wasted on me sitting around the house for my whole life and took the opportunity to accept the offer, effectively making one of my worst nightmares come true.

I discovered that Ozpin had been interested in me even before the Podunk event. Dad used to be one of his pupils and kept in touch with him. They talked about me and my sisters; he must have told him how I beat him enough times to be qualified for Beacon. So even if I didn't go to Podunk and cross paths with El Edgelord and have an Ursa tear him apart then slay said Ursa, he would have still dragged my ass into Beacon. The recent incident was just the last nail in the coffin.

My family persuaded me to go. Dad was noticeably worried at first but he saw a lot of potential in me as a Huntsman and he doesn't want to see them get wasted on nothing. He begged me not to have his only son let him down. Dad was a good man, he was always there when I needed him and this was the only way I could repay him after everything he's done for me. I would have hated to see him upset because o treat it like a normal school—just with blood-sports and dangerous field trips, it can't be that bad.

Right?

In all honesty, I don't really mind attending the stupid academy itself that much. I can take hours of boring lessons just fine, it helps that they are said to be more bearable than normal classes and that even includes combat training. I have at least picked up a few experiences to catch up with those subjects. So it wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the dangerous missions that contain live Grimm and other hostile wildlife that becomes more endangering as the years go on, that is what I'm worried about, especially given with what they are expecting of me thanks to the status I've unintentionally made for myself.

My dad bestowed upon me the Arc family sword—the Crocea Mors. A sword once held by my great-great-grandfather, Harry "The Flash" Arc, who fought during the Great War **[4]**. Passed down from generation to generation. It was a symbol of Arc Family honor. The sword has been used for several generations; it witnessed many conflicts and slew countless amounts of men and beasts alike, yet it still looked like it was fresh from the forge.

Mom also handed me her old, yet fully functional and effective shield—The Désir Ardent, it was once a simple steel heater shield with the crest of the D'Rémy family, now it's painted to have the Arc family crest and was modified to be transformable to a scabbard for the Crocea Mors.

I felt ashamed of carrying the weight of these valuable relics, I've never truly done anything that makes me worthy of their possession. Was it because I was the only Arc child who bothered using a sword and shield and that my parents decided to give them to me so they don't have to stay in one place and collect dust? Whatever the reason was and regardless if I deserve them or not, they're mine now, apparently.

Before taking the airship to Beacon, I gave my parents a hug and waved my all sisters goodbye. I am going to miss our times together whether it's Dad's training, Mom's comfort, Bleu's lessons, Viola dressing me up, farming with Vert, shooting with Rose, helping Blanche and Noir with their music; heck, even suffering from Rouge's antics. While we do agree to keep in touch via video message, it just won't be the same.

As the airship lifted off. I gave one last wave to my family through the window and one last look at Pucelle's landscape. This was a place I've called home for my whole life. I prayed to whatever Gods that this won't be the last time I see it.

This was not the day I waited for.

 **=o=**

1\. _Caiaphas Arc is known to be one of the most skilled living swordsmen on Sanus. The fact that Jaune managed to defeat him a few times in duel was impressive enough on its own, something which he rarely acknowledges likely because it contradicts his own belief that his fighting ability was only average at best._

2\. _The Arc family manor is rather huge, having two floors with 20 rooms. It's understandable why Jaune chose not to spend any effort to search for his comic books._

3\. _According to police reports, El Segador was supposed to meet for a face-to-face trade with Mistral's Yakuza. He arrived far ahead of time, so he went on a crime spree, taking advantage of the state of the CCT. After his death and the apprehension of his surviving accomplices, the Yakuza ship was raided by the authorities and seized all of the assets inside it._

4\. _The Crocea Mors was originally the personal weapon of King Phadrig the VII prior upon recompensating it to Harry Arc after the war and becoming an Arc family heirloom._

* * *

The trip to Beacon was not a comfortable one.

It wasn't because I was anxious that I was going to a school where teachers would try turning you into a killing machine through rigorous training and boring lectures, but it's because of an old enemy of mine—motion sickness. The first few hours weren't so bad. Dizziness aside, I thought that I would be able to get used to it, then I got a grim reminder that air travel doesn't get along with my weak stomach. I've been struggling to hold my vomit for hours and the lack of restrooms aren't helping. Apparently, some moron on the airship manufacturing company thought it would be a hilarious idea not to any add lavatories despite long travel times and instead spend the rest of the budget on holo-screens. They didn't even bother to add any waste containers either nor a single open window where I could just release it there and let an unlucky schmuck get hit by an aerial assault. Thanks a lot, bastards; good luck getting eventually sued over this.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon!" A female voice greeted via hologram. It was a sign that I was close to finishing that nightmare of a flight, which was a relief. I listened to her message hoping it would buy me some time to hold my puke. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!"

Which I never wanted in the first place. I feel bad for all the idealistic idiots who dreams to get into Beacon, only for them pick me instead. They would have made better Huntsmen than I would, even if they would last for only less than five seconds on the field, at least they had the spirit. I would have gladly traded this position with one of them if I got the chance.

She continued. "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

If your definition of courage means running around and get a crime lord killed only because you forgot that you bought a Grimm into town, then I fit just right in.

The hologram faded and everyone went to the windows to check the view, meanwhile, I was back with my losing battle against motion sickness. I tried to restrain my vomit for a few more minutes before I could arrive at Beacon. But alas, I came to the point where I couldn't hold it any longer. So I told to myself to screw it and let it some of it out before stopping. I swallowed it back and panted for air before holding it out again. I saw that my pool of bile ended up hitting the shoe of an above-average looking blonde girl, who was being accompanied by a short goth-looking girl who both were shrieking out of disgust and are withdrawing from the puke. Knowing that these girls can kick my ass at a minute's notice and not because I think girls take their shoes seriously, I slinked towards the corner of the ship, not caring about the disgusted remarks being made by other attendees.

I'm going to file a complaint to the airship manufacturers after this.

After a few minutes which felt like an eternity. The airship finally stopped and opened its doors, the first thing I did after exiting the ship, was quickly unload the rest of my vomit in the nearest garbage bin before getting up and panting for fresh air. I'm a son of a well-respected Huntsman and former military commander and has been said to be the one who saved a humble town from a wanted, ruthless bandit lord and an overgrown Ursa that even fully-trained Huntsmen struggle to defeat... and the first five seconds in Beacon has me throwing up in a trash bin. This is how the savior of Podunk starts his school year, people. After finally departing from a lengthy battle with nausea, I took a moment to relax and headed to the courtyard to give my first impressions of the academy.

I stopped in the middle of the tracks to appreciate the academy's structure. I heard people say about how beautiful Beacon is and I've seen pictures of the academy itself but I was not prepared to be astounded by its beauty in the flesh. 'The Shining Beacon', indeed. Now I'm no expert when it comes to architecture but Beacon looked more like a palace than a school. If it didn't call itself an academy, you could easily trick someone into believing that royalty or an evil wizard or dragon lives there. Then again being one of the most prestigious academies in the world requires you to rub your glamour on the other schools' faces. That aside, it's pretty beautiful. It almost makes me forget that this place would probably be the death of me.

My gaze was rudely interrupted when I heard what sounds to be an explosion. I turned around and saw the goth girl from earlier being yelled a regal-looking girl clad in white. The only thing I heard was the goth girl called the other a princess or something before another girl entered the scene. This one had long black hair and wore the most oversized bow I've ever seen on the top of her head. Gods, and I thought those only existed in silly cartoons. The girl in white angrily took something from her before leaving. **[1]**

"I promise I'll make it up to you!" the goth girl cried out to her, who was probably pretending to not have heard her. She sighed and turned to the other girl, only to see her walking away too. All alone, she sat down and fell to the ground. I feel kinda sorry for her, I know what it feels like to be left out. If I were to survive four years here, I needed someone to watch my rear. So I put on my 'nice guy' persona and walked over to her and helped her out.

"Hey," I called out, she opened her eyes, revealing her silver irises. "You okay?" I asked as I offered my hand.

She smiled and took my hand and rose. "I'm fine." she said. "Just having a rough start."

"Happens to the best of us," I replied.

She paused for a moment before recognizing who I was. "Wait, aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Oh boy.

 **=o=**

1. _It was just one of the dust vials that dropped after Ruby fell on my luggage. I had my servants take care of the rest._

* * *

We headed inside the academy together. As we were walking, I tried to convince her how serious motion-sickness is, how it's a more common problem than people think and why it's not my fault that air travel makes me nauseous.

"Look, I'm sorry. Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind. I didn't quite get your name." she excused.

Oh right, we haven't properly introduced ourselves to each other. With that out of the way, I gave out the cheesiest introduction I could think of: "Well, the names Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" Okay, that was a little too cheesy than what I was aiming for but seeing her unconvinced face, it worked.

"Do they?"

They don't.

Instead of answering, I gave out a shrug. It's not like that I'm going to convince her that ladies always fall for guys because of their cheesy pick-up lines or because they act suave like some Atlesian super-spy. Mom said that women don't work that way.

"Names Ruby, Ruby Rose," she said perkily.

"Nice name." I complimented. "I have a sister named Rose, you kind of remind me of her sometimes." Come to think of it, it's funny to see that having generations of parents name their kids after colors, which caused some kids to have the same name. I know at least four people named 'Amber'. **[1]**

Ruby smiled for a second but I noticed it turn upside-down. "Look, Jaune... I'm sorry for calling you 'Vomit Boy'. I guess I was coping with the fact that my sister ditched me and that other girl at yelled at me because I caused that explosion... might as well call me 'Crater Face', huh?"

Crater Face? Last time I checked—there weren't any craters I saw after the explosion. Now that I think of it, either my eyesight was failing me or the gods were lazy today.

Because of the awkward atmosphere, she decided to change the subject. "So… I got this thing," she said before she pulled out her weapon, opening it out into a sniper rifle with a short scope. "This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one's mine," she presented proudly, cocking the charging handle before further expanding her weapon as it unfolds the curved blade beneath its barrel and then abruptly stabbed the ground, making me flinch slightly as I try not to think that she picked a farming tool that was meant to harvest crops of all the weapons to choose from. **[2]** "And it's also a scythe."

Of course, nowadays all the cool kids have a weapon which can turn into a gun. Which ranges from plausible and practical (for example, Bleu's halberd rifle and admittedly El Segador's shotgun machetes.) to stupid and downright ridiculous. There was also this one guy who had a laser yo-yo as a weapon, while his weapon doesn't transform, it begs to ask what was he thinking when he designed that crap. Let's just say he became too crippled to become a huntsman.

"Oh, that's cool!" I said, trying sound as enthusiastic as I can.

"So what do you got?"

I gulped for a moment since my weapons are pretty boring compared to others, then again I wasn't planning to impress anyone. "Well, I got this sword," I unsheathe the Crocea Mors and gave it a twirl.

"Ooooohh!" she seemed impressed for whatever reason despite my weapon being arguably the dullest armament in an academy full of crazy hardware that I might as well bought a rusted shovel as my weapon.

"And I got this shield" I took out the Désir Ardent and raised it to its shield form. Basically the closest thing I got to a transformable thingamajig.

"So, what do they do?"

"Well—the sword… kills things." I know it was so blatant that the stupidest person could figure that out but it was the only answer I could think of. "And the shield gets smaller when I'm not using it," I said while demonstrating it and putting it back on my belt. "And before you ask, yes it still weighs the same." I have pretty much have gotten accustomed to its weight since I used to carry shields that were just as heavy. While it's nothing much to be proud of, I am happy with my choice of weapons. The simplicity of the sword makes it very useful, effective and so easy to maintain that a child could do it. They're also still pretty common even if only a few people use them today, so if you lose your sword, you can easily just replace it with another one. As for the shield, it plays a crucial part in defense, and as for someone who values his life, the shield is my most trusted friend on the field of battle.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons," she giggled. "I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."

"That's nice. I never crafted my own weapon." I didn't have much of a reason to. I haven't attended any combat schools which would have required me to craft one. Besides, why bother making your own weapon, when there are several well-made weapons for you to use?

"Oh? So where'd you get it?" she asked very curiously.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight during the war." I answered.

"Sound more like a family heirloom to me!" she chuckled. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah... the classics," I muttered as I sheathe my sword.

"So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" she asked as we continue to walk.

I thought for a reason before coming up with one. "Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'" I lied. Mom actually told me to never trust strangers, especially the suspicious-looking ones.

"Hmm..." Ruby hummed. "Hey, where are we going?"

I didn't realize we were wandering around blindly until she brought that up. "Oh, I don't know. I was following you."

They didn't exactly give me a map or anything, they just told me to get to the auditorium once I arrived. We found ourselves lost inside. There wasn't a directory or some recognizable landmark we could as a reference.

I looked around for a clue and in a distance, I saw a tall, athletic, redheaded beauty who caught my attention. I squinted my eyes and leaned my head closer to take a good look at her. She looked kind of familiar, have I seen her before? I couldn't tell. She was curiously looking around. I notice her bit her lip before walking away.

"Uhh, Jaune?" Ruby waved her hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my daze. "Let's follow her," I pointed towards the tall redhead. "I think she'll take us to the auditorium."

We began to trail her. We were able to be discreet that she didn't realize she was being followed by two lost weirdos. She led us to a large building before being pulled over by a group of people who seemed to recognize her. She continued to enter the building while being followed by the said group.

"Well, this must be it." I declared. We went inside the hall and saw an entire audience of soon-to-be Grimm fodder, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Ruby! Over here!" called out the blonde from earlier whose shoes I vomited on, sticking out like a sore thumb from a crowd of what felt like looking at a bunch of faceless silhouettes. "I saved you a spot!"

"Oh, hey I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony!" she said. Leaving for her blonde friend.

Sweet girl, her optimism pretty much brightened my day. It's a shame that she's throwing her whole life for a dangerous profession that increases your chance of death, in a world that already wants to kill you. I hope things go well for her, and I mean it, really.

I looked around the auditorium and spotted the redheaded girl. I walked towards her side, pardoning myself from the people standing in the way until I got next to her.

"Umm... hi." I approached shyly.

"Hello." she graciously greeted me back.

"Nervous?"

"I guess you can say that," she confessed.

"So, mind if I ask for your name?" I saw her emerald eyes widened when I asked her that. Was there something I missed?

"Pyrrha Nikos." she noticed me fret and assured me. "It's fine. There's no harm in asking."

"Uhh... okay... thanks. Ja-Jaune Arc. Pleasure to meet you, Pyrrha." I offered my hand.

"Likewise." she accepted the gesture and smiled.

"Look, sorry if I bothered you. It's just... you looked familiar, and I just wanted to get that out of my system."

"Don't worry about it. In fact, it feels nice for someone not to recognize me for a change," she said, suggesting that she is rather popular, which explains why she was swarmed before entering this place.

I checked to see how Ruby was doing and saw her being scolded by that girl in white again. What's her problem anyway?

"…Like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." I heard her say to Ruby, apparently pointing her thumb back to my direction. Was she talking about me? I'll have to ask later. Right now, the show's about to start.

Enter The Great & Powerful Ozpin **[3]** – the man responsible for trapping me here. Turns out, my little joke about an evil wizard living in Beacon wasn't far-fetched. Beside him was the woman from the hologram in the airship – Glynda Goodwitch, if I'm not mistaken.

He approached the microphone and spoke. "Ahem" Everyone in the room turned to him. "I shall keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."

Heh, you wish.

His speech became a bit blunt "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction..." he gave a subtle glare at me as if that remark was directed towards myself. Considering that Dad told me almost the same thing, that's probably the case. Nobody was able to notice this because they were too busy murmuring on what the hell he's talking about.

He looked back at the crowd and continued. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." the way he was speaking, it felt like a lecture for me disguised as an opening ceremony for the school.

"It is up to you to take the first step."

He turned back and left as Miss Goodwitch stepped up. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed." she announced before leaving as well.

Normally, I would still think of something witty, but I just stood there, trying to comprehend if Ozpin just called me out in front of the entire school.

I was able to stop spacing out before Pyrrha was able to see me in my bewildered state. "That was... strange." she was visibly just as perplexed as everyone else.

"You tell me," I replied, hiding the frightened tone in my voice.

I remembered wanting to ask what was with Ruby and that other girl. "I got to go, it was nice knowing you, Pyrrha."

I walked straight towards Ruby's position. "Hey Ruby, is there something wrong?" I asked. I turned my head to the girl in white to finally get a good look at her, I once again found myself in a gaze. She was easily the most beautiful girl I set my eyes on. With her silver hair complemented with a side ponytail, light blue eyes whose grace is never tarnished by the scar on her left eye, and with her petite body—she looked more like an angel than human. Maybe she really is an angel. I never believed in love at first sight, dismissing them as ludicrous nonsense popularized by mediocre romance novels... until now.

...Then I took it all back after she opened her mouth.

"Yes, there is something wrong!" she answered before Ruby could say anything. "Your idiot of a girlfriend almost got us killed!"

I slightly flinched. There goes my plan to asking out this pretty if irritable white-haired chick. "Whoa, okay first off, I am not her boyfriend and second... who are you?"

In contrast to Pyrrha, she did not take kindly to that question. "Have you been living under a rock?!" she yelled before toning her voice down to a proud manner. "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

Cool, and I'm the vice-mayor of Who-gives-a-crapVille.

I'm familiar with the Schnee Dust Company, or the SDC, for short. I just couldn't bother to know what's beyond their company name and products. I rarely use dust myself.

"Jaune Arc. Pleasure to meet you." Well, it was a pleasure for maybe like three seconds.

"Now with that out of the way, would you kindly tell your friend to be more careful around dust?! I don't need her causing more property damage." **[4]**

"I'm sure already she apologized and promised not to repeat it again and if that's wasn't enough then I would also like to apologize on her behalf."

She groaned and decided to change the subject. "I noticed that you've made your acquaintance with Pyrrha Nikos..." she folded her arms. "Do you have no idea who she is as well?"

Oh no, I could see where this was going. "Well... she looked kind of familiar..." I said. "No. I can't say I heard of her though."

"Excuse me? You really don't know who she is?!"

I simply shook my head.

"She graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"

"Never heard of it."

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row, a new record!"

"The what?" I know what Region Tournaments are. It was just something I couldn't care less about.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" **[5]**

"Wait, that was her?!" I suddenly exclaimed. It's no wonder why she looked familiar. Ever since her face was slapped on every Marshmallow Flakes box, I've been trying to ask: 'Who is this chick and what is she doing on my cereal box?' before immediately moving on and just ate its contents. It didn't bug me again until now.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think she deserves your time?" Weiss asked skeptically.

I was already aware that I was out of her league the moment I saw her fans surround her. I don't plan to go on the trouble of arguing with a pseudo-princess any further, so I just told her what she wanted to hear. "I guess not."

"Good. Speaking of which, why am I wasting my time with you imbeciles? Now if you'll excuse me, I shall make my leave." she said before walking away.

Sigh, it's one of those girls. I decided to annoy her one more time before she was able to make her exit. "Oh, and just for the record, I'm a natural blond."

"Whatever."

Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine. I chuckled to myself.

"You alright, Ruby?" I asked as I turned my head to her.

"I'm okay." she replied. "We just set off on the wrong foot, I'm sure she'll be nicer soon! After all, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!"

Oh gods, I was worried she'd take that advice to heart.

"Hey," Ruby's blonde companion called. "Thanks for sticking for my sister there—wait a minute, are you Vomit Boy?!"

I was too occupied with why she just called Ruby her sister to be disturbed by that nickname. I can tell that she is definitely not living that one down.

"The one and only." I jested. "It's Jaune Arc, by the way. Sorry for throwing up on your shoes, motion-sickness and all." I said, doing my best to maintain eye-contact and not have my sights fall toward her 'distracting assets'. Thankfully, living with seven sisters helped me prepare for this type of situation. She kinds of looks like Rose, sans the twin ponytails and the country-girl accent, instead she had hair that looks like it was never cut once in her life. **[6]** Seriously, what is it with this school and attractive women?

"Hey, don't sweat it, its water under the bridge. Besides, any friend of my sister is a friend of mine. Yang Xiao Long, nice to meet you."

"Good to know, you said you two are sisters?" I curiously asked, she barely had any physical resemblance to Ruby and they don't even use the same surname for whatever reason.

"Well, half-sisters. While we do share the same dad, we were born from different mothers." Yang looked down as they both frowned. I can tell that there was something that happened that they would rather not talk about.

"I see. Sorry for asking, I'm a little curious sometimes." I apologized.

"It's okay, I didn't want to leave you hanging." she reassured, cheering up.

"Hey, Jaune." Ruby called. "Thanks again for standing up to me there."

"Just helping out a friend,"

"Man—can you believe that Weiss girl? She's such a bi-...very irritating person." Yang hissed.

"She's rather cold, don't you think?" I quipped.

She laughed. "That's my line, Vomit Boy. Anyhow, it was really nice to meet you. We'll catch you later, right now we wanna tour the rest of Beacon."

"Be seeing you, Jaune!" Ruby said.

"You too, Ruby."

After I parted ways with the sisters, I went to the ballroom where I would apparently be staying in until tomorrow. As I entered, I saw some students unpacking and unfolding their sleeping bags while others were just sitting down and chatting.

So far, no one has recognized me as the Podunk guy yet, despite it being all over the news the other day. I did get a few glances, but they don't appear to be intrigued by my everyman appearance. Maybe they do recognize me, but they didn't see what I did as much of a feat—being capable of slaughtering Grimm is a minimum requirement after all, so it's probably overshadowed by all the much more impressive stunts actual Huntsmen and Huntresses pull. Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather be known as 'Vomit Boy' than have someone remind me of my embarrassing fraud of a reputation.

"Ren, look! It's Jaune Arc, the Defender of Podunk himself!"

Oh, for crying out loud.

Before I knew it, an orange-haired girl dashed towards me and repeatedly shook my hand with her tight grip. "Hi, my name is Nora. I'm a huge fan of your work. You were awesome! How often do you see someone defeat an Ursa Major and a bandit lord at the same time? Oh, you got to tell me your secrets." she babbled, still shaking my hand. I was trying to process what she all just said.

"Calm down, Nora, I think he's a little tired from his trip." A ravened haired boy with a single pink stripe said as he catches up with his friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Nora apologized, letting my hand go as she steps back. "It's just a huge honor to finally meet you. This is Ren, well, Lie Ren, but everyone calls him Ren. Nobody calls him Lie, it sounds too much like 'Lie' as in 'lying'." **[7]** She giggled before slowing and toning her voice down as she turned her face to Ren. "No offense."

"None taken," he said.

She turned back to me and began to babble loudly once again. "We've been together for soooo long, well not 'together-together', not saying he's handsome; he IS handsome, but that'd be just weird, right?"

"Umm... right." It was the only thing I could say at the moment.

"Well, enough about us! Tell us about you! How did you save an entire town from an Ursa Major and that big meanie, El Segador?!" she eagerly asked.

I was worried I have to answer questions from my apparent fans as if being interviewed by journalists and the Great & Powerful Ozpin weren't trouble enough. So I just went with the half-truth. "I don't know how I did it honestly, I just... did it," I answered nervously.

She doesn't seem to be disappointed at that answer at all. "Wooooow! So you're telling me that you are so amazing, you just simply defeated them like it was nothing? Awesome! Even me and Ren have a little trouble beating a few bandits and a single large Grimm, you on the other hand, just put them in their place like it's nobody's business! You are more hardcore than I thought."

That's obviously not what I meant, but with someone like this, what else could you do? "It's nothing, really, I was very lucky it went that way," I responded. Remember that El Edgelord would have killed me if it weren't for the Ursa I accidentally lured into town.

"Still, you have to admit, it was impressive," Ren stated, finally speaking again after letting Nora do most of the talking. "The authorities have been after El Segador for years; not only you stopped a robbery, but you succeeded in where everyone failed. His clan wasn't the same since his demise."

"Yeah, it kinda does," I replied. I really need to get out of this, I thought. It felt uneasy when discussing that fiasco. "Listen I got to go, thanks for the support."

"Anytime, Jaune!" Nora said.

Well, that was bizarre. Now I have an adoring fan on the same campus, honestly, I don't know how to feel about that. I do feel ashamed of because she is praising me for something I only did because I didn't know any better, but at the same time, she seemed so happy that I didn't want to disappoint her.

I chose not to think about it. I've met enough people with varying quirks and personalities who I will apparently be stuck with for the next four years that I needed a break.

 **=o=**

1 _. An unfortunate side effect of the colorful naming convention that remains a problem to this day, while common names were a thing before, the first batch were mostly named after basic colors, which provided almost no variety. Eventually a concerned individual urged the population to diversify the names of their children by releasing a long catalog that included almost every color or color-related names; even then, communities are still prone into having at least two or more children having the same name after a color, especially with less creative parents._

2\. _Ignoring the fact that scythes have been proven to be effective melee weapons, and the existence of war scythes._

3\. _Jaune had nicknames for everyone he holds distaste with, though he was careful enough to keep them privately. One exception would be me, but it was because everyone called me nicknames at that time, which I admittedly deserved._

4\. _Friendly reminder that The Schnee Dust Company™ is still not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company™ product._

5\. _Fun fact: While Pyrrha did enjoy posing for the box, she dislikes the cereal itself, saying they are unhealthy_.

6\. _A correct assumption. Yang takes her hair very seriously. In fact, she unlocked her semblance at her first attempted haircut. Needless to say, Taiyang Xiao Long had to pay for the damages._

7\. _Many people assume that Lie Ren's naming order is 'surname first, given name second' due to him hailing from Anima, where some parts follow that naming order. It's soon confirmed that this is not the case for him and that he is often addressed through last-name basis, intentionally or not. Not that he minds at all._

* * *

If there's anything more embarrassing than my undeserved reputation, it's my choice for apparel during lights-out—A light blue adult-sized onesies, accompanied with bunny slippers of the same color. Anyone starting on elementary school would deem wearing these discomfiting which I barely felt until now because I never thought of wearing these outside the house.

I have four legitimately good reasons for wearing this ignominious excuse of a nightwear:

One, its fabric is too comfortable not to wear.

Two, my other options are so much worse, that I left them at home.

Three, the reactions I get from it were pure gold.

Four, screw you, I wear what I want, what are you gonna do, mock me to death? Oooh, I'm scared.

I know I could have just slept with jeans or with boxers on at least but wearing jeans in bed is rather uncomfortable that it would require an amount of fatigue to sleep in those things, and there's no way I'm showing my heart-patterned boxers in public, if I am to make a fool out of myself anyway, I might as well get comfortable.

What worries me more than my childish nightwear is the initiation tomorrow, there was no doubt that I have to impress The Great & Powerful Ozpin by going through trials that he himself has set up. So I waited for the locker room to be clear of any potential eavesdroppers before calling the most intelligent trustworthy person I know who have previously attended Beacon.

"Hello, Jaune! How's Beacon treating you?" Bleu appeared on my scroll's screen, wearing her dark blue nightgown. I haven't seen her much in person since she was too busy teaching at a Huntsman academy on Mantle.

"Not as bad as I fear it to be, even made a few friends. Its tomorrow's initiation is what I'm worried about." I told her.

She seemed to be more focused on a familiar sight. "Are you seriously wearing those in public?"

"Hey, I didn't have much of a choice, you've seen my other pajamas!"

She audibly sighed. "Fair point, but still, buy some new pajamas. I keep hearing Viola regretting to have made them like that. Seriously, you don't have a reason to be lazy this time."

I plan to. I always have the feeling that Viola only made these so that everyone at the house could stop cringing every time they look at me at night and made them cozy enough to keep me from wearing my old pajamas, however, it's still designed to make me look laughable, but at least relatively bearable to look at. I admit it's partly my fault by not telling Viola to make me a less embarrassing sleepwear, then again I got too comfortable with the onesies that I forgot to ask.

"Don't worry, I'll work it out. Anyway, can you give me some details about the initiation tomorrow?"

"You want me to spoil the initiation for you? Doesn't that ruin the excitement?" she raised her brow.

"The only thing exciting about it is when it ends." I scoffed.

She chuckled. "And why would I do that? Even if I tell you, it's probable that Professor Ozpin made changes to the initiation after these years." she has a point, being in her early thirties, it has been a decade since she studied here.

"It would still be worth it," I said. "You wouldn't want your only brother to die a shameful death on the initiation, would you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Jaune, you're not getting killed—I've seen what you can do, you'll be fine."

"I almost died to an Ursa and a group of bandits!"

"...And you didn't." she retorted. "Seriously, do you think that father trained you for nothing?!"

I widened my eyes a bit. I then realized that self-deprecation won't get me anywhere other than further arguing, so I gave her another reason. "I just wanted to be prepared this time. All I just need is a little heads-up, that's all."

She sighed again. "Knowing you, even if I refused, you would still stubbornly hold out for me, would you?"

I gave a dim nod. "Fine, at the very least, you'll learn something from this," she said, taking a deep breath. "The initiation will take place at the Emerald Forest. You will be launched into the air and you will have to land with your own landing strategy. You still have one right?"

I remember during Dad's training, I would sometimes be thrown off a cliff without a parachute just so I could work on my landing strategy. If it wasn't for my huge aura reserves I would have died or at least be very severely injured on my first few attempts. **[1]** "Just like we practiced at home." I nodded.

She smiled. "Good. Now about the Grimm, you have not much to worry about. Usually, the forest is just full of Beowolves, some Ursa and if you're very unlucky, a King Taijitu." I gulped at the latter. "It's nothing you can't handle. Besides, like I taught you back at home, King Taijitus aren't that bad if you aim for their heads." **[2]**

Even if they are not as tough as they appear to be, their appearance alone was enough to give me a series of nightmares. I already hate snakes, and them being two-headed giant snakes makes them even more terrifying. "I hope you're right about this."

"Oh Jaune, as bitter as ever... You're not being rude to your new friends are you?"

"Of course not. I am a lot of things, Bleu, but being a straight-up jerk isn't one of them."

"Good, because you'll be paired with the first person you make eye contact with, they'll be your partner for the next four years; if you want to get through Beacon, you will need to trust one another."

I thought of Ruby and Pyrrha for a second. "Anything else?" I asked.

"Your objective is to retrieve a relic, your team will be formed depending on the relic you took." she took a deep breath. "I've said enough. Take it with a grain of salt though, I may have not mentioned some things because of possible changes. Keep this between us, okay?"

"Don't worry. I will. Thanks a lot, Bleu."

"You're most welcome—and Jaune, please don't push yourself too hard," she said before ending the call. I got to give it to Bleu, she had yet to let me down, even if I did doze off at some of her lessons. She's always known to be the reliable one, practically carrying us Arc children. I wouldn't know what to do without her.

I exited the locker room and made my way to my futon. I reminded myself of my questionable apparel, while I still do find these embarrassing, it actually didn't bother me that much. I don't care how people see me so long as they don't intend to give me any serious harm. I would gladly exhibit my childish apparel for kicks. However, most students were fast asleep and those that weren't were too preoccupied. The only person who witnessed my crime of fashion was Yang, who was gazing at some shirtless boys, I spoiled her eye-candy by walking through her field of view, her smile quickly turned into a cringe as I grinned at my own mischief. Sadly, that was the only reaction I got when I reached my futon. The boys she was staring didn't seem to mind at all for some reason, maybe they were crazy enough to think that was normal, I don't know.

Still, it was worth it. I needed a little fun. It was one way to cope with being on a school to become a killing machine in a world that hates your guts. The people I met here are surprisingly friendly and decent, aside from a certain snotty corporate brat, I wouldn't mind spending four years with them. But I shouldn't be too attached to these people, in case something goes terribly wrong, and this being a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses, that is very likely. We'll be going through hazardous terrors to see if we're good enough for them and the initiation tomorrow will only be the beginning. Perhaps I'm thinking this a little too much, they did manage to get themselves into this prestigious academy, after all, it's myself that troubles me—I'm nothing like them, I'm only here because of sheer chance and stupidity. I'm worried that I'm going to slow them down because of my cowardice and unwillingness to become a Huntsman like them, the fact that I been trying to make them believe that I was some lovable idiot to get them to be protective of me didn't help.

Why not get expelled? I didn't want to be here after all. Yeah well, the problem is, Dad would not only be disappointed in me, but it would also leave give my family name an ugly reputation. Rouge, for all her flaws, at least managed to graduate to Beacon, even if she did eventually lose her Huntress license, she wasn't pursuing to be a Huntress anyway since she only attended to stay out of trouble for a little while. Although even if she's not the worse person I've met, I'm not going to stoop lower than her and dishonor my family, so I'm going to have to get through Beacon while making sure my hide is safe and avoid being too impressive that teachers get the wrong idea and send me into dangerous missions because of it. Then I can go home and go back to my peaceful, boring life. It's the least I could do, I'm not going to let Dad down after everything he's done for me.

I sighed and took a deep breath. Only time will tell how well my life in Beacon goes, I'm still barely twenty-four hours here and I needed to get some sleep.

I took one last look at the shattered moon before falling into slumber...

...

...

...

Until it was ruined by the sound of fighting.

"What in the world is going on over here?!" I heard a certain Ice-Queen yell. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

"Oh, not you again!" she and Yang exclaimed in unison.

I groaned. It's going to be a long year.

 **=o=**

1\. _The Arcs are well-known for their large aura reserves, making them very durable fighters._

2\. _King Taijitus are infamous for their huge and menacing appearance, however, their fragile heads made them less threatening to any experienced Huntsmen. This is due to being one of the few Grimm specimens not bear a mask on its face._

* * *

 **Well, there you have it! The second chapter should be out shortly, it's at least 90% by the time this chapter is published.**

 **Jaune's father obviously is based on the titular protagonist this fic is inspired from as if his name didn't give that away, while his mother is a combination of Joan of Arc and Amberley Vail (where Jaune's blond hair and blue eyes inherited from.) (EDIT: I renamed Joan to Ambervale, since she was becoming too much of an Amberley, that I decided to name her after her. That and I wanted to deviate from stories where Jaune has a relative named Joan.)**

 **And yes, El Segador is based off Overwatch's Reaper in his Mariachi skin. And no, some of Jaune's sisters, namely Vert, Blanche, and Noir aren't intentional references to Hyperdimension Neptunia, I have yet to play those games myself.**

 **Whether you enjoyed the fic or didn't, please don't forget to leave any feedback.**

 **EDIT 12/9/2018**

 **(SPOILERS FOR V6 CH7)**

 **No, I am not renaming Bleu (or any of Jaune's sisters) to Saffron/Saphron, whatever her name is spelt. This story is already AU before the first episode even started, which means you can stop searching for retcons now.**


	2. Knights 'N' Rooks

**EDIT#1 As suggested by an anonymous reviewer - all footnotes are now highlighted as bold, making them easier to spot if you scrolled down to read the annotations**

 **#2 A couple of lines have been revised. Also added a footnote explaining aura failures.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Knights 'N' Rooks**

* * *

 _"When Grimm attack, get the women and children—use them as bait and shields."_

 ** _-Anonymous Vacuan Huntsman_**

One of the things I need to get used to in my new life at Beacon is waking up early before seven o'clock every weekday. While I'm never a morning person, I'm neither a stranger to waking up earlier than usual. When I was in elementary, I had to wake up every 7:30 A.M, two hours and a half before school. After graduating, I was free to wake up any time before noon when my home-school lessons usually start. Even then, there were some days where I have to rise up early as part of Dad's physical exercises, and not to mention my sisters occasionally prank me early in the morning. The difference is that they only happen from time to time, here you have to be awake just in time before class for five days straight every week.

I grumbled as I took my scroll under the pillow to turn off the alarm. I looked around the ballroom to see what everyone was up to. Some of them were still sleeping while others have woken up, two of them, in particular, would be a fan of mine and her stoic friend.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" Nora sang as she danced around Ren.

I got up and headed to the locker room. I did not notice how much of a mess the locker arrangements were until today. It was too dark then and I was more concerned about contacting Bleu to even notice it. This is much worse if you assigned yourself with a higher locker number; in my case locker 636. Eventually, I managed to find my locker and had the place marked on my scroll map so I don't have to get lost trying look for it anymore.

I took a shower then changed to my usual jeans and hoodie, which has the print of Pumpkin Pete exposed because I was not wearing my breastplate to cover it. While childish, it's not as cringe-worthy as my pajamas. I left my armor in the locker because I didn't need it yet; I'll come back for it once I was done with breakfast and started preparing for the initiation. Seriously, what kind of moron would wear their armor for the entire day especially when they don't need it? I'd hate to be that guy. **[1]**

I've always been fond of Pumpkin Pete for whatever reason. I've been attached to him ever since I was an infant. I remember getting a stuffed toy of him on my sixth birthday and then seeing Rouge crucify him a few days after. It didn't do much damage though, even if he now had holes on his paws, it wasn't anything Viola could fix. At least she didn't burn the cross while he was on it, that would have been offensively annoying.

I went to the cafeteria when I was thinking about what to eat, a certain beverage came to my mind.

"Got any tanna?" **[2]** I asked the lunch-lady when I approached her.

"Tanna?" she raised her brow in confusion. "We don't serve that junk here. Why would you even ask for it?"

I'm not going to deny its rather questionable taste. That drink is certainly not for everyone. I just figured that drinking it would help me stay awake because regardless of its taste, it's hard to stop drinking after taking a single sip. No wonder why Dad obsesses these things.

"Just curious," I said. "An egg sandwich and a cup of coffee would do." she complied with my order and went to the kitchen.

I turned back and saw that Nora was still talking to Ren, even with a pancake hanging in her mouth. She slurped the rest of her food making her much easier to hear.

"Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work, he has the school."

Apparently, someone's been spreading rumors about teams. But by the looks of it, they seem to have no idea how they are formed. Whatever you two are up to, I wish you luck.

After I finished my meal, I headed back to the locker room and grabbed my gear. I put on my breast and shoulder plates and placed my scabbard on my belt. I took my sword and gave a few spins before sheathing it.

As I was walking my way out of the locker room, I noticed Pyrrha and the infamous ice queen of dust and tantrums were having an exchange.

"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together." I overheard Weiss.

"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha replied.

"Great!"

Pyrrha greeted me as soon as she saw me passing through. "Hello again, Jaune!" her hands were waving at me with Weiss scowling at my presence.

I stopped my tracks and returned the gesture. "Morning to you too, Pyrrha." I still couldn't believe she was the woman on the fifty cereal boxes I sent to win the very hoodie I was wearing. A beautiful, talented woman like her would've been the last person to sell-out to a brand of breakfast mostly aimed at kids.

Killing shadow thingies plaguing the entire world with stuff your parents warned you about, bought to you by Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes™!

"Oh Jaune, I'd like you to meet—"

"Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company" I interjected. "We have met before," I said as I smirked at her.

She folded her arms. "Seriously? You again?"

Good to see you too.

"So, are you ready for the initiation?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm looking forward to it," I said with false confidence. Even with the information I got from Bleu, I still don't know what I was about to drag myself into.

"That's good. So Jaune, have you been planning on who you will be pairing up with?"

"Not yet. Play your cards right and maybe you'll end up with me."

"That would be great! Well, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so—" Pyrrha said before getting interrupted by Weiss as she stepped forward in front of her.

"Hold on, I thought you acknowledged yesterday that you're not worth Pyrrha's time. I don't think you deserve to be on the same team as her either."

"Actually I'd think he'd make a great teammate," Pyrrha said leaning from Weiss' side.

No, she's right. I'll just drag her down because my lack of willingness would probably ruin her record as an upstanding warrior.

I looked down and gave a sigh of defeat. "Maybe not."

"Good," Weiss said. "At least you don't make things more trouble than they're worth."

I'll let her push me around for now. The more they think they're above you the easier they are to manipulate. Right now, she sees me as nothing more than a bumbling idiot, and I'll keep it that way for the moment.

"Come on, Pyrrha, they'll be waiting for us at the cliff," Weiss said before leaving.

Pyrrha reluctantly followed her. "I'll see you at the initiation!" she said to me before catching up with Weiss' pace.

I took time to appreciate their gorgeous rears as they walk toward the exit. If anyone told me sooner that Beacon would be chock-full of attractive Huntresses, I would have laughed at them for trying to lure in me in there, it would turn out that they were right.

"Wha'cha doing there, Lady-Killer?" Yang suddenly asked, popping out of nowhere with Ruby catching up behind her.

"Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

She looked at my line of sight and saw Weiss and Pyrrha leaving the room and grinned. "Ooohhh! Been trying to win over the ice queen and the cereal girl, aren't you?" she teased.

"It's nothing like that. Really, we just talked about teams, that's all." I explained.

"Cool!" Ruby squealed in delight. "Want to be on our team? We're currently recruiting."

"That sounds great! Where do I sign up?" I said, pretending to have no clue on how the teams are formed.

"Awesome! We are going to be the best team ever!" Ruby said before we heard Ms. Goodwitch's voice on the P.A.

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Well, judgment day is about to begin.

"Come on, let's go," I told to the sisters as we headed to the Beacon Cliff.

 **=o=**

1\. _Actually, it's a common practice for knights and warriors to wear their armor for long periods of time, which occasionally lasts for days. This helps them get accustomed to their weight and heat while exercising their mobility when wearing it._

2\. _A tea made from leaves of plants native in the ice caverns on Morosco. It's rather obscure and unpopular outside its homeland, even in other parts of Solitas._

* * *

When we arrived at the cliff, we saw Miss Goodwitch and several other students waiting for the initiation to start. We were told to stand on individual metal plates which has the emblem of Vale on it, which I correctly assumed that would be catapulting me into the forest. A few minutes later, The Great & Powerful Ozpin arrived with a mug of coffee **[1]** in his hand.

"Is everyone present?" he asked, walking in front us as he looked around to see if anyone was missing. "Good, let us begin." he took a sip of his coffee before giving a speech. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Ms. Goodwitch stepped in. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'." With that, everyone stopped at whatever they were doing and paid extra attention. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion—each of you will be given teammates... today."

Imagine my shock.

"What?! Oh." Ruby cried.

Ozpin spoke again. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ruby groaned, obviously she wasn't pleased to hear any of this.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"Whaaaat?!" Ruby howled with a shocked expression as if her whole world broke around her.

"See? I told you!" A voice called out which was unmistakably Nora's.

Ozpin continued. "After you have partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Of all the things he just said, that one bothered me the most. The thing about combat schools is that they're dangerous enough that you could get killed as early as initiation. **[2]** I gave a nervous laugh before gulping at the thought.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Do you enjoy watching us suffer while you stand back drinking coffee? Because I'm getting that suspicious aura from you. Better yet, what did you put in your coffee that made you thought that this was a clever idea? I swear, I was one slip of a tongue away from actually asking that.

"Good! Now, take your positions."

As everyone prepares themselves to be launched, I unsheathe my sword and just told myself to remember what Dad had taught me.

Weiss was the first person to be catapulted to the forest, followed by others, then Ren and Nora. Next person to be launched was Yang, she gave Ruby a wink before putting on a pair of aviators then flying off with an audible 'Woohoo!'

Initially, I thought that she put on those sunglasses to look cool and show off, after all, it sounded like something she would do. Then it hit me, she wore those so she could avoid making eye contact with anyone she doesn't want to be paired up with, meaning you couldn't see her eyes when wearing them. Clever girl. **[3]**

Ruby gave me a thumbs up before getting launched as well.

Before I knew it, I also found myself flying in the air. I manage to restrain my urge to scream and focused on getting a safe landing. As I get closer to the ground, I held my sword above my head in a reverse grip with both of my hands and stabbed the nearest tree trunk I was falling to.

So far, so good. I thought to myself. I hanged around for a few seconds before I pulled my sword from the trunk and pushed myself back, making me fall before landing on my feet unscathed. The first step went better than expected, I didn't like being thrown off to such height and expecting me to land safely, but that's over now.

The next thing I needed to do was to find a partner, then look for the temple, then take a relic and get the hell out of there. All while making sure the Grimm doesn't have their way with you.

Speaking of Grimm, I heard an animalistic growl coming from my back. I slowly turned around and saw a small pack of Beowolves, consisting of at least seven of them.

Indeed, I made a successful landing—at one of the worst parts of the forest.

"Umm... hi." I nervously greeted. My large pool of aura and all the negative energy they could smell from me was enough to make them want to kill me multiple times. Obviously, it would have been incredibly suicidal for me to not run as fast I could.

Wonderful, not one minute in on this stupid test of skill and I'm already chased by a Beowolf pack. I can already tell how this day was going to go, I thought.

I tried to wave my arms and called for help **—** no one answered, either because there weren't any human beings nearby or that they just couldn't bother to help. Either way, I was on my own. **[4]**

I eventually got tired of running and the pack was still after me. I decided to put my training to good use since I thought no one was coming. I have dealt with a few Beos at Pucelle, how should this be any different?

I raised my shield and turned back as I use it to bash the Beowolf when it tried to pounce me before thrusting my sword to its face. The second Beo tried to lunge on me, I dashed back right on time and slashed it down. The next one raised its claw as it attempted to clobber me only for me to successfully block it with my shield before decapitating its arm with my sword then used it to stab the Beo in its chest.

Two Beos surrounded me on the front and the back, so I charged at the one on the front and hit its head with my shield then slashed the one on the back, I went back with the staggered former slicing its head off before turning around giving the latter a few more slashes.

I went on the offensive with the last two, slicing one of them down before it could even attack. I bashed the last one with my shield twice before shaving its head off.

I panted as I watch their corpses evaporate. I could feel the Great & Powerful Ozpin writing down his plans for me while he takes yet another sip of his coffee.

"That was amazing!" A friendly voice praised.

I turned around and saw Pyrrha walking toward me. That's a relief, not only I'll be on her team, but I'm going to be her partner as well. Considering her past achievements and records, she's the ideal partner for getting me out alive in combat situations. The bad news was—she just saw me single-handedly slaughter a whole pack of Beowolves, giving her an impression of a competent Huntsman who didn't need help.

"Uhh, it's nothing! Really! They're just Beowolves, one of the weakest Grimm there is." I said, hoping it doesn't sound like a boast. "So—it's nothing to be impressed about... at all!"

She tilted her head in confusion before giving a giggle. "Come on, it's pretty impressive on how you handled them, most people could only take out a few before giving in. I was so worried that I was about to step in, but you held your ground and prevailed."

Wait, so you're telling me that if I had run and screamed for a little longer, I didn't have to deal with all of those stupid Beos alone?!

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. "Skills like those can only be acquired from such experiences."

"I learned from the best." I smiled. Gotta give to Dad, even if it's partially his fault that I am here. He still made sure I'm prepared, Huntsman or not.

"So I guess we're partners now." I pointed out.

"I guess we are. It's an honor to be fighting by your side, Jaune." Pyrrha said.

"Good to have you too. I needed someone of your talents." By that, I mean REALLY need.

She was flattered by that compliment that I could feel her blush.

"Let's get moving," I told her. "The temple shouldn't be far out."

She nodded as we headed north toward our objective.

They say that Pyrrha is the goddess of victory. If that's true, then I am very lucky to have her as a partner. A goddess guiding me to victory is something I need to get through Beacon in one piece.

Though if she really is a goddess, I hope she's more useful than the last one I got.

Freaking Aqua. **[5]**

 **=o=**

1. _Despite what most people believe_ , _he actually drinks hot chocolate instead of coffee._

2\. _Although rare, there are a few students who died during the initiation at Beacon, either due to poor luck or stupidity, but mostly the latter_.

3\. _Headmaster Ozpin soon noticed this and immediately banned concealing eyewear for the next initiation to 'preserve the unpredictability of team matchmaking'._

4. _I actually witnessed him fleeing from the Beowolves. I simply chose not to intervene because I did not want to be paired with him at the time. Hence, why I ended up with Ruby._

5\. _Apparently, one of Jaune's former dates in his pre-Beacon life. He never formed a serious relationship with any of them._

* * *

Although I've visited several of them, I've never been fond of forests myself. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate their lush beauty. I'm talking about the thick ones where it is easier to get lost and are riddled with Grimm, those are types of places any person in their right mind wouldn't want to be at night, the Emerald Forest is becoming one of those places.

"So Jaune, where are you from?" Pyrrha asked, taking the point as we search the forest. Because of her being a superior fighter and probably have better Huntsman experience, it made sense for her to take the lead.

"Pucelle. It's an obscure and isolated county somewhere in the Gallican province. I don't blame you if you never heard it." I responded.

"Huh, Pucelle? I've been hearing that place a lot on the news lately. It's something about—a bandit lord, I think."

Oh crap, she's on to me! Better say something quick!

"So... I heard you're from Mistral?" I said. She looked at me and nodded. "What can you tell me about it?" I then asked.

"Well, I cannot describe it in one sentence," Pyrrha said. "They say its place with rich culture and history. The landscape is pretty beautiful too, especially during autumn."

"That's nice," I said. "I've actually visited there a few times during vacations. I was just wondering what you have to say about it."

She smiled, seemingly forgetting about her musings about that fiasco, which is a relief.

We continued to trek through to the forest. It was mostly silent, with the sounds of footsteps only being heard, until we heard a gunshot in a distance.

"Did you hear that?" I questioned.

"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha stated.

We kept walking while I tried to track the source of the gunshot; I figured that teaming with the other pairs will increase our chances of survival. I got lost on my train of thought that my face ended up getting hit by a branch.

"Ow! Stupid—"

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha her turned back and came near me.

"It's nothing. Just got a little careless there, that's all." It wasn't something my aura couldn't handle, but getting smacked in the face even if you don't feel any pain is really irritating.

She sighed and turned back as I continued to follow her.

We soon heard another noise, this time it's the sound of a bush rattling. Pyrrha raised her fist as we came to a halt. We readied our weapons, scanning our surroundings before seeing a shaking bush.

"On your guard," Pyrrha advised. I positioned myself in a defensive stance.

We continued to stare at the bush before a pair of Ursa Minor came out, confirming our suspicions.

"You take the one on the right!" she said before we charged at our respective targets.

I took a moment to glance at Pyrrha as he charges to her kill. I lunged at the Ursa, bashing my shield to its head before cutting it down with a few slashes, making it fall as it vaporizes.

Pyrrha was just as done when I finished mine.

"See? You're a natural!" she praised. "With combat prowess like that, I'd say you'd make a great Huntsman."

It wasn't impressive as she described it. It was only a single Ursa. I could've waited for Pyrrha to get rid of hers before getting her to kill mine, but it wasn't the best course of action; I had to act out of instinct and avoid the possibility of serious injury even with large aura reserves, since they have a chance to fail inconveniently. **[1]**

"Let's not celebrate just yet. We still have a temple to look for." I reminded.

"Right. The temple." she nodded.

With that, we resumed our hike. After a few more minutes of uneventful walking, we saw what appeared to be an entrance to a cave in a distance.

"Huh, a cave." Pyrrha turned to me and asked. "Want to go check it out?"

Since I was getting bored of walking through the forest and considering the possibility of the cave leading to something interesting, and maybe even the temple, I saw no reason why not to.

As we approached the cavern entrance, we saw primitive drawings on the walls depicting men armed with spears and bows engaging a giant scorpion, which may or may not be a Deathstalker.

"You think this is it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. This doesn't look like a temple."

"Well, we headed north," I said while I looked at the ground and picked up the first stave I saw. "Did we?"

"I'm sure we did but…"

I pulled out a piece of cloth from my pocket which I prepared before the initiation in case of situations like this and wrapped it around the top of the stave. I picked up some coal and used them to put fire on my torch.

I looked again at the sinister, dark entryway. My conscience keeps telling me to turn back as danger lies within this cave, but I made up my mind and decided to go inside in case we find something. If movies taught me anything, it's that tombs and relics can be found in places like these. Let's just hope it wouldn't have to involve us getting chased by a giant boulder after we took out the prize. Granted movie logic is not reliable but it felt like a good idea at the time; besides, I have Pyrrha with me in case things go wrong.

"Temple or not, I'd say it's worth checking out." I declared. "We should find something here. Maybe it could lead us to the temple and even if we don't, we could always head back out."

She nodded as she followed me inside. I took the point because I was the one holding the torch.

If only I was aware of what was waiting for me, I would rather have continued to look for our way on the woods and even happily fight an Ursa Major with only my bare hands. There's an opportunity for a lame bear pun there, but I'm afraid I'll have to digress because I have standards.

The cave becomes increasingly darker the deeper we went, making me regret coming here but my urge to search for anything unusual told me to press forward.

I ended up tripping with my torch falling into a puddle of water; extinguishing it, making everything almost pitch black.

"You okay?" Pyrrha asked as I pushed myself back up.

"I'm fine."

"Did you feel that?"

Soul-crushing regret? If so, then yes.

"Feel what?" I asked while I pulled out my scroll and turning on its flashlight. I don't know why I bothered making the torch if I could have done this in the first place. Well, you gotta practice your survival skills sometimes, right?

"Feel something… warm." she said. I still have no clue what she's referring to.

I continued to lead on and found something glowing. We went to the place where the glowing is being held to investigate and saw a golden orb of sorts. My initial assessments almost led me to believe that this was the relic. Panning down my scroll flashlight, I saw a frightening sight of a large scorpion's face with all its eyes closed.

"Is that…?!" Pyrrha said as she reached for her sword.

…A Deathstalker?! No, that can't be it. Surely, a Grimm this huge and tough can't be allowed in an initiation for fresh recruits, no matter how ludicrously skilled students need to be in order to attend. **[2]** This has got to be some sort of prank Ozpin set to scare off students who attempted to explore this cave. It doesn't take a genius to know that only dead-serious Huntsmen and Huntresses go after these things.

The golden orb turned out to be a stinger for the scorpion. It opened all of its red and lifeless eyes, confirming that it is indeed a live Deathstalker. After seeing that, I made what I could only describe as the most un-masculine scream I've ever made on my entire life.

 **=o=**

1\. _While aura is activated by default during tense combat situations, they have a rare chance of malfunctioning, thus not being able to protect the user from harm. This why Huntsmen are often encouraged not to be over-reliant on aura. I received the scar on my left eye because of this._

2\. _Professor Ozpin did not intend for the Deathstalker to be part of the initiation. He simply did not notice it get the past the security and forgot to dispatch it after a group of unfortunate students encountered it. Afterward, the cave where it was residing remained uncharted before being explored by Jaune and Pyrrha. When Ozpin realized this he disregarded it as another challenge the initiates have to confront._

* * *

We quickly stormed out of the cave, fleeing from the provoked Deathstalker. In all honesty, I'd take a huge boulder chasing us out instead of one angry, giant Grimm insect.

After getting out the entrance I panted while Pyrrha unsheathes her sword and shield, facing the entrance in case it comes out. I really should have listened to every red flag planted when entering that cave.

I prayed that the Deathstalker would take a hint and stay in its nest since its size should be too big fit out of the cave entrance, but unfortunately, it broke through it, showing its full glory.

I turned tail and tried to run but I looked back to see Pyrrha engaging the Deathstalker. I'm tempted to leave her fighting while I flee to safety, but I needed my partner alive if I were to pass the test and I wasn't going to take the chance of her dying.

"Jaune, would you help me out here?!" she called out while she blocked a claw with her shield. What does she think she's doing? A Grimm like that is too much even for a world-class champion like her; she's still a Huntress-in-training after all.

"Pyrrha, we can't take that thing down on our own! We need to get out of here find the others!" I argued, hoping she'd come to her senses.

She tried to hit it a few more times, only to find out that its exoskeleton was too thick to be penetrated, it was then she decided to take my advice and followed me as we routed out.

We ran as fast and hard as we could through the forest with the Deathstalker on our tails, crashing to everything it passed.

Eventually, we managed to find the temple, with two figures there already who happen to be Yang and the girl with the huge bow whose name I haven't got at that moment. As soon as we saw them I did not waste any more time and called them.

"A little help here?!" I yelled, still running from the Deathstalker.

They looked at each other for a moment before they both shrugged and stormed towards the giant scorpion, with Yang using her shotgun gauntlets to boost herself while the other girl grappled towards it.

We stopped and looked back as we watch Yang and her partner attack the Deathstalker for a second. "Go help them hold it off, I'll get the relic," I told Pyrrha.

She nodded as she once again unsheathed her shield and xiphos went to assist the duo in distracting the Deathstalker.

I sprinted toward the temple and saw that the 'relics' turned out to be chess pieces, which were standing on platforms, some of which were empty, indicating that others managed to find the temple before we did. The type of piece probably didn't matter aside from team formations and maybe meaningless symbolism. I took the piece which caught my attention the most, a golden knight piece to be exact.

I looked back to see Pyrrha, Yang and the bowed girl taking their time to fend off the Deathstalker. So far they still have yet to even weaken it, even with Pyrrha's skill and Yang's strength, it's clear that this wasn't going anywhere without some sort of strategy.

As I was about to call Pyrrha to tell her I got the relic and that we should leave, I heard Ruby's voice calling my name.

"Jaune!"

"Ruby?" I looked back and saw her from a nearby tree-branch before jumping off to my position.

She looked around and saw the ongoing battle between the three stoogettes and an overgrown bug that had no right to be as powerful as it should be. **[1]**

"Is that Yang?" she asked, noticing her sister riding the scorpion while trying to punch through its abdomen while it chased Pyrrha and the bowed girl, with the latter shooting it with her pistol while running.

Okay, looking closer at the latter's gun bothered me. Why does her weapon's pistol mode have her blade pointing towards the user's face? You can easily mistake that she's about to stab her own face if it wasn't for the gun barrel on the crossguard. **[2]**

"Yep," I replied.

She turned to the temple and saw the chess pieces standing on platforms. "This is the relics?" she questioned in disbelief.

"Mmm-hmm." I nodded.

"Huh." she grabbed the nearest piece, a golden rook, I think. "So what now?" she looked back at the trio fighting.

Before I was able to say something, an Ursa came out of the forest, swinging its claws. I was about to pull out my sword out of instinct but then I saw a pink spark coming from its back and saw Nora mounting on it before it fell to the ground.

I'm not kidding.

"Yee-haw!" she cried as she rolled off from the bear's back. "Aww, it's broken." she then went to examine its neck. "Eww."

Ren showed up a moment later, panting and leaning at the Ursa's corpse. "Nora?" he took a few breaths. "Please… don't ever do that again." Unfortunately for him, she doesn't seem to have heard him because she was already at the temple when he said that. To be fair, I didn't notice her get here that quick either.

"Ooh~!" she stared at the golden knight piece. "A cute little pony! Yay!" she squealed as she took it then danced while holding it.

If I'm not mistaken, her taking the same piece as mine means that I'm going to be teammates with her and Ren, for better or for worse, hopefully, the former.

"NORA!" Ren yelled, calling her out.

Nora stopped. She giggled and had the piece fall from her head then catching. "Coming Ren!" she said with a salute before skipping to her partner.

"Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" I asked Ruby, making sure that I am not seeing things.

"I… think so." she replied.

I turned my head and was startled to see Nora was beside me. "GAH!" I screamed. Wasn't she supposed to be with Ren by now?

"So, what relic did you get?!" she questioned.

I hesitantly reached out my pocket and showed her the golden knight piece I took. "Oh? This? Well, seeing as you took the same piece, I guess we're teammates now."

She was blinking for a moment before bursting out in excitement. "YES! YES! YES! First, I get to be partners with my BFF, now I'm teammates with the Defender of Podunk himself! This is the best day ever!" she exclaimed. "I promise I will not to let you down!"

I could only give a nervous chuckle. Apparently, I'm now teammates with a hyperactive adoring fan and her quiet friend who speaking of which, ran to our position, still panting.

Thinking about it, everyone here came with a partner except Ruby. It's unlikely that she went all this way without one.

"Hey Ruby, where's your partner?" I asked.

"Well…" she said as she slowly faced the sky.

I looked above and saw Weiss hanging from a Nevermore which is another Grimm that shouldn't be on this initiation. Calling it a giant Grimm bird doesn't fully describe it, that thing is tougher than it looks. I heard that it usually takes more than three professional Huntsmen teams to get rid of it and that's only with minimum casualties. The fact that it's airborne only makes it a bigger pain to deal with. I was more disturbed by its presence than the fact Weiss was in danger. Where are these large-class Grimm coming from? **[3]**

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss yelled down to Ruby as she tries to hold on one of the Nevermore's talon.

"I said 'jump'!" Ruby yelled back.

"She's gonna fall!" Nora exclaimed while she stuck her thumbs to her index fingers to make some binoculars.

"She'll be fine," Ruby replied.

Weiss grip then fails her as was now dropping from the sky.

"She's falling." Ren nonchalantly said, pointing out the obvious.

Without thinking, I ran to where she was falling and attempted to catch her bridal style. While I did manage to catch her, she ended up crashing into me and I tumbled to the ground thanks to the impact of the velocity when she was falling. If it weren't for our auras, I wouldn't be able to use my arms for a few days and Weiss would have a broken back.

"Oww." I moaned.

"Ugh. Thanks a lot, hero." she groaned in pain.

"Yeah, don't mention it," I replied, returning the sarcasm.

We recovered after a few seconds, my arms still felt a little sore, though. I pushed myself back up and went back to the others. Pyrrha and the bowed girl retreated from the Deathstalker while Yang was still trying to find a way to kill it.

"It's no use!" the bowed girl said. "It's tougher than it looks!"

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby boasted. "I'm coming, Yang!" she then charged toward the Deathstalker.

"Ruby, no!" I screamed. It was too late, she fired her sniper to boost herself to the scorpion, only to get swiped off when she got close enough.

"Ruby!" Yang cried out.

Ruby got up. "Don't worry, sis! I got this!" she took a few shots on its skull, as usual, it didn't do jack. "…Or maybe not." the Deathstalker was provoked and gave a monstrous roar.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Yang said as turned around then ran back toward the group.

Ruby followed her, sheathing her scythe. The Nevermore flew in and cowed. Firing several sharp feathers at their area. One of them managed to impale Ruby's cloak, trapping her.

"Ruby!" Yang halted and rushed back to her sister, helped her struggle out of the feather.

Unfortunately, the Deathstalker was getting near them. Yang tried to slow it down by firing at it with one of her gauntlets but it was no use.

"Oh for the love of—!" I heard Weiss yell before she used a glyph to fly off to the sisters. She used her rapier to stab the scorpion's gland when it was about to hit Ruby. Then she fired a round of ice dust to freeze it neat as you please.

"Weiss?" Ruby opened her eyes and gazed at the Ice Queen.

"You are so childish, Ruby!" Weiss called out, pulling her rapier from the ice she casted. "…And dim-witted... and hyperactive. And don't even get me started on your fighting style." she took a deep breath "And I suppose I can be a bit...difficult."

Gee, don't you think?

She continued "But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer."

"Huh, coming from you, that actually sounded nice," Yang commented, speaking for my thoughts exactly.

"Can it, I'm doing this for the best of us," Weiss replied.

"I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I could do this." Ruby spoke up.

Weiss stares at her for a moment. "You're fine." she stated before walking away.

Ruby sighed in relief, she then looked at the Deathstalker to see it in its frozen state.

Yang went in closer to her and gave her a sisterly hug.

I smiled at the sight but then I heard Big Bird **[4]** caw again as it flew around above us, reminding me that I need to get out of this mess.

"Alright, everyone gather around," I ordered before all seven rounded up. "Does each pair have their relics?" I inquired as I showed a golden knight piece.

"Oh yeah. Blake, you still have it?" Yang asked her partner.

"Here it is." the bowed girl—Blake I think, answered, showing her golden rook piece.

"I still have mine—I mean ours!" Nora bought out hers.

"Yes, we do. Why did you ask?" Ruby questioned, pulling out another golden rook piece.

"Then we got what we came for. We can't keep wasting our time with two large Grimm any longer, we already got our objective, now it's time for us to get out of here." I told them. Truth is, I could have left with my team once we got our relics but I could use some extra protection and manpower that I chose to wait for the others.

"Huh, that's actually not a bad idea, Arc." Weiss of all people concurred, seemingly impressed.

Did the ice queen just compliment me? I must be hearing things. If not, I guess there is hope for her after all.

"He's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs. There's no point fighting these things." Ruby asserted.

Thank you, Ruby.

We overheard the Deathstalker's cries as it was now breaking from the ice. Signaling us to make haste.

"Time we left!" Ren said.

"Right." Ruby nodded. "Let's go!"

 **=o=**

1\. _Considering that the Deathstalker has been in the cave for a long period of time, its safe to assume that it has grown to be the most intelligent Grimm in the forest, thus becoming the most dangerous threat during the initiation._

2. _It's worth noting that the Gambol Shroud does not necessarily need its blade to be adjusted in order to use its pistol function but it has to in order to properly aim down the pistol's sight. Still, she could have chosen a better position for the blade when using the weapon as a firearm._

3\. _Once again, the fortifications fail to prevent another unauthorized Grimm from entering the forest during initiation. Despite its status, Beacon was not exactly known for its security._

4\. _Jaune's nickname for the Nevermore during the initiation, named after a character from a popular children's program._

* * *

All eight of us left the forest, unfortunately, Big Bird followed us as we were approaching a ruin before the cliff. We hid behind some stone blocks as the Nevermore stood above it before screeching at us.

You have got to be kidding me right now, you stubborn little pigeon.

To make things worse, the Deathstalker caught up, breaking through trees as it exits the forest.

"What do we do now, Jaune?" asked Pyrrha who was holding her rifle.

"Run like hell!" I screamed.

Pyrrha followed me as we rushed straight into the ruins. The Nevermore shot some sharpened feathers before Nora managed to dodge them all then used her grenade launcher to distract it. I looked back and saw the Deathstalker getting closer and closer, causing me to run faster.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha said as we reached the bridge, stopping to temporarily suppress the Deathstalker that Blake and Weiss may catch up.

We continued to cross the bridge when Big Bird came and crashed at the bridge, splitting the party with Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss on the other side, fighting the Deathstalker.

I couldn't go on without my partner, someone needed to get Pyrrha out of there. "We gotta get over there, they need help!"

"We got it!" Ruby said as she and her sister jumped toward the gap. Ruby hit the Deathstalker on the face as she unsheathes her scythe then slashing it a few times before dodging its claw. Which ended up pushing Pyrrha to the edge, making her fall.

"Oops!" Ruby said.

"Pyrrha!" I yelled.

Luckily she quickly recovered and went near a pillar, she slowly slid down before launching herself on to the Nevermore. She gave the giant Grimm bird some slashes before leaping off and landing safely into a platform.

Me, Ren and Nora quickly ran to her position. Ren climbed and pulled a wall-run to the platform while Nora used a grenade jump, unharmed either due to her aura or for using non-lethal explosives. **[1]** This is where my limitations become more apparent, although I did my best to keep myself prepared, I still lacked a soaring strategy without the proper gadgets.

"Uhh, guys?"

"What is it, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked looking down at me.

"I hate to break it to you but…" Before I was able to finish what I was saying, I heard Big Bird screech as it goes closer to the tower putting my team's focus on it by trying to gun it down.

Yeah, I'm also the only person here without a ranged weapon, I regret not 'borrowing' one of Rose's guns before getting to Beacon. I barely had any problems using a sword and a pistol at the same time; why did I forget to take one with me?

The Nevermore crashed through the tower, making everyone fall. Everyone was able to recover quickly and got back to the ground except me. As I was falling into the pit, I screamed for dear life until I suddenly stopped mid-air, feeling some sort of sensation coming from my armor. I found myself floating for a second before getting thrown into the air and then dropping into solid ground near my team. I checked my body to see if I was alright, I had no clue what just happened.

"In case you're wondering, that was my semblance! I can control magnetism, so I pulled you on your armor when you were falling," Pyrrha clarified.

Thank goodness, if it weren't for that I'd be a goner. "Well, then thanks."

"You're most welcome," she replied with a smile.

"We're right behind you!" Nora said with a salute.

I smiled back at them. However, we still have a bird to deal with so we didn't have time to discuss semblances at the moment. The problem was we lacked a decent strategy against it especially in a place like this. If anything, Ruby's team would be much more appropriate dealing with the Nevermore as they are much more mobile and have the better skill-sets to counter it. The best thing, for now, is to continue gunning it down and wait for it to try and come near us. Having someone jump on its back again is impractical especially when we are trying to shoot it down because it could hit them and cause them to fall.

"Keep firing!" I ordered as I raised my fist then pointing at Big Bird while staying behind their rears. They obeyed as they fired their guns at it. It angrily shrieks as it flies toward us again, which gives us the chance to melee it.

"Nora!" I called.

We went out of the way as Nora changed her launcher into a hammer and uses it to slam on Big Bird's face, causing it to fall down.

I exhaled out of relief before Big Bird soared back and grabbed me from behind with its talons then flying away.

"JAUNE!" I heard Pyrrha yell.

Big Bird sent me higher. Ruby's team was done getting rid of the Deathstalker and noticed me being grabbed by the Nevermore while it was flying off, they tried to save me by trying to shoot the bird while my team was doing the same.

Bullets ran past me as I continue to hold on the Big Bird's talons. "Stop it! You're gonna make me fall!" I yelled before they ceased firing.

I was too busy trying to find a way to get myself out of here that I barely felt any air sickness during flight. I thought of waiting for it to take me into its nest but I am not going to risk myself fighting a bunch of baby Grimm birds while dealing with this one alone, plus its likely far away that I'd be presumed dead when I get back. So I quickly thought up for a better idea and found one. I'm not sure if it's going to work nor would it end well but considering how desperate I was, it was better than doing nothing.

I struggled out of the Big Bird's grasp, I almost fell after doing so but I held on to the talons, then I started climbing up to the bird's back, it was tricky because the bird would shake every couple of seconds but I managed to get on to its back as I climbed near its head.

Okay Jaune, This can't be that hard. It's like riding a pony! Remember how embarrassing that once went? No, can't think about that right now, I have to live! I internally said.

I gripped the fur of its head as I use it to control its flight. It took some strength to do it, but seeing that it works, I was able to use it to my advantage. I made it fly towards the top of the cliff as I unsheathe my sword and stabbed its head a few times causing it to descend faster. As it reached near the edge of the cliff, I sliced Big Bird's head off then jumped to safety.

I panted heavily as stared down the Nevermore as it turns to no more. I anticipated vomiting but I didn't throw up for once, probably because it was a short ride. If this was supposed to be just a test, I cannot imagine how actual missions go. This is only my second day and I already had to deal with two large Grimm for Pete's sake.

I stood up and walked toward the edge of the cliff and looked at the figures who were all gazing at me and the Nevermore's dead body.

We stared in silence for a few seconds before I could hear Nora clapping as loud as she could so I could hear her from a distance.

"I knew you could do it!" she cheered. I noticed everyone looking at her for a few seconds before joining her applause.

I could only sigh. I did it again, didn't I?

 **=o=**

1\. _Most likely the latter. There are some specialized explosives made for safe 'grenade jumping'—for the lack of a better word. Which are used to launch its users into the air without suffering any physical harm._

* * *

I sat on a rock, waiting to reunite with the others, only for the Great & Powerful Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch to have found me first.

"Mr. Arc, knowing your family, I expected great things from you but this is quite a surprise," Ozpin said. "I could only name a few times initiates actually managed to impress me."

I wanted to ask him why in the name of the Light Brother's holy babysitter was a Nevermore and a Deathstalker doing there but I'll have to ask that for another time, I had to make sure Ozpin doesn't get any wrong ideas, even if he already has.

"I just did what everyone would have done, Headmaster," I said, which isn't exactly a lie, of course, your survival instincts would act up if a giant bird grabbed you and tried to make you its next dinner. **[1]** "I couldn't have done it without the others."

"I appreciate the modesty, it is good that you acknowledge the efforts of your fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses but do not forget that your skill and leadership made your success possible," he stated. "I must admit, the Nevermore and the Deathstalker were not meant to be in premises…"

I knew it.

"…but you have proven that you are indeed a capable Huntsmen. I've been wanting to get rid of that Deathstalker for a long time and I am grateful that you managed to get rid of it."

Shouldn't you be saying this Ruby and her team? They're the ones responsible for that bug's demise; all I did was wake the damn thing up. The Nevermore, on the other hand, was dead mostly because I killed it out of self-defense and most of the damage was caused by my team.

He took a sip then continued. "You have a bright future ahead of you, Mr. Arc. Please, keep doing on what you do."

I really hope this 'bright future' doesn't involve dealing with worse Grimm, this initiation alone was too much to have almost made me wet my pants.

The rest of the gang made it out and walked toward us. "Ah, you all finally made it," Ozpin said as he and Miss Goodwitch turned to the group.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out, running toward me. "I was so worried about you! Are you alright?" she asked.

Well aside from that I had to cope with the fact that I was almost bird food and was still recovering from minor air sickness, I was mostly unscathed. "I'm fine, Pyrrha. Don't worry, it's all over, we won the day." I said, pulling out the 'relic' and giving it a toss.

Nora gave me a quick yet tight hug before stepping off. "You were so great! You flew on a Nevermore and killed it while landing with style!" she cheered. "First, the bandit lord El Segador and now a Nevermore! Is there anything you cannot do?!"

Good gods, this wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have to bring up the former, especially that loud.

"Wait that was you?" Yang suddenly asked as she started to grin.

Dammit, Nora!

"Of course, he is! Didn't you know, he was the slayer of the infamous reaper of Vacuo; the Defender of Podunk himself! Jaune Arc!" Nora answered. The sisters were astounded while Weiss raised an eyebrow and Blake has the same unimpressed poker-face as usual.

Terrific, now more people know of my fraudulent reputation I got from that embarrassing day, I was already happy with people being oblivious to who I was.

"You were that guy?! Oh, oh, please I got to have your autograph!" Ruby squealed. And there it is, another cheery-girl on the fan club.

Miss Goodwitch then spoke up. "Students." Everyone turned to her to pay attention. "Now that you're all here, I want all of you to report to the auditorium by noon for the announcement of teams. In the meantime, take some rest; you've all earned it."

We nodded before she walked away while Ozpin gave me a wink before following her out.

"Can you believe it, Yang?! I got to fight with an actual hero!" Ruby said.

"Easy there sis, I think you made him a little uneasy," Yang said as she grinned at me. Oh, was she so right about that one.

I hate to say that they'll soon be disappointed once they find out that my so-called 'heroism' wasn't what it turned out to be.

Pyrrha then patted my shoulder. "You did well," she said. "Don't worry, I know the pressures of having such fame."

Well, she had been the champion of Mistral's regional tournament four times in a row, I guess she dealt with worse. "Thanks, Pyrrha," I said.

We took an hour to unwind before gathering at the cafeteria for lunch. We all sat by together eating. I ordered dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets myself. Don't ask, they're just that delicious.

"Alright now that everyone is here, let us finally introduce ourselves to each other," Ruby called, standing up. "Let's start with me. Hello, my name is Ruby Rose!"

"I'm Yang! Ruby's sister and I like to punch and pun!" she said, pointing her thumb to herself before sitting down.

"Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." Weiss said with a bow, smiling for once.

"Blake. Blake Belladonna. It's… nice to meet you." Blake introduced herself before immediately sitting down.

"Pyrrha Nikos, but I guess you all already know that," Pyrrha said before nodding her head toward me.

"Jaune Arc. A pleasure to meet you all." I stood up introduced myself.

"And I'm Nora Valkyrie! This is my best friend, Lie Ren!"

"Hello everyone and sorry if she bothers you, she's just that excited, that's all," Ren said.

"It's fine," I reassured. "I live with seven sisters, I think I can handle her."

Now that everyone's here, it's time to for me to learn of their abilities, it's important to know your allies as much as you need to know your enemies.

"Hey Pyrrha, you said your semblance can control magnetism, would you care to share?" I asked.

"That seems fine." she nodded. "Okay everyone, let's discuss our semblance, mine is polarity." she demonstrates by making her spoon float.

"Does that mean you can control poles?!" Ruby asked, missing the point.

"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss angrily corrected.

"I can also use it to retrieve my shield and javelin after throwing it. It took a lot of practice and patience to properly control it, though." she said as she slowly puts the spoon back down.

"That's cool!" Ruby said. "My semblance is speed! I can move from one place to another with a blink of an eye!" she chooses not to demonstrate it though, as it might cause an accident in the cafeteria. Or maybe she did and we were just too slow to notice? **[2]**

"My semblance are glyphs," Weiss said. "They can be used as solid platforms and can control motion."

"Neat. My semblance makes me hit harder when I get damaged." Yang stated.

"That's cool! Mine makes me stronger when I get hit with electricity!" Nora said.

"I don't recommend trying it out right now though," Ren warned.

Seeing how she just killed an Ursa and smacked a Nevermore on its face without even using her semblance, I agree that it was a good idea not to.

"Anyway, my semblance mask negative emotions. It may not look like much but it makes you invulnerable from Grimm." Ren said.

Huh, that sounds practical enough for me to take advantage off. So far, I'm really liking this team.

"I can make shadow clones of myself. Keeps me from getting seen." Blake said.

"What about you, Jaune? What can you tell us about your semblance?" Ruby asked.

Crap, I was worried I had to answer ever since I bought this up. Which is unfortunate because Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora seemed eager to hear about it.

"Oh yeah… it's kinda funny actually." I hesitantly said.. "I… don't have any… Really, I never unlocked my semblance."

Yeah, that's right, The Defender of Podunk himself who was apparently good enough for Beacon—has no semblance. Your semblance defines who you are as a Huntsman and I am literally nothing. I don't know what my semblances is supposed to be. Dad's semblance has his use his survival instincts at its fullest, Mom is almost fireproof, Bleu can analyze for strengths and weaknesses of a person or creature, Rose can shoot multiple targets with deadly accuracy and Rouge is immune to loud noises. I wouldn't be surprised if mine turns out to be comically useless. There is nobody to blame for this other than myself, if I did have a desire to become a Huntsman I would have unlocked my semblance years ago.

They all stared at me confusedly before Nora began speaking.

"That's… actually amazing! So what you're telling me you can do amazing things without needing a semblance?! Awesome!"

Sigh, there she goes again. I guess at this point anything disappointing about me is another excuse for her to idolize me.

"We'll have to fix that," Ren said. "A person's semblance is important. While your skills are superb, you'll be even more proficient in combat."

"I agree. I'm looking forward to discovering it." Pyrrha added.

"Thanks, guys… I really appreciate it." I said as I went back into eating my meal.

Later, we went to the auditorium and placed our respective chess pieces on their platforms on the stage. Looking at the pieces makes me hope I'm wrong about the thought of us being in an elaborate chess game with Ozpin and his students being the players and pieces respectively.

We stood back with the other teams as the Great & Powerful Ozpin starts his speech.

"Remnant is a dangerous place…"

Understatement of the year.

"Which is why people call for Huntsmen like us, but even Huntsmen are just as vulnerable to the beasts they dedicated their lives into fighting against. However, with the combined strengths of multiple Huntsmen, it creates a formidable force that can potentially take on the worst of the Grimm. But to ensure victory, a team must possess trust, fellowship, and coordination. It is now the time you start exercising bonds with one another as now we shall begin the declaration of this year's freshmen teams."

He started to announce the teams of the initiates, giving them team names that are formed from the first letter of each member's name. (which is either their given name or surname, whatever that makes a good acronym.) The person who makes up the first letter assumes the role of the team leader; in one funny case:

"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby) Led by…"

Cue drum roll.

"…Ruby Rose!"

Badum-Tss!

But seriously, that's really her team name and she is indeed leading it, and there weren't any drums. It's too much of a coincidence that she gets to lead a team that is almost named after her, it's almost as if Ozpin just made her the leader for the team name alone. **[3]**

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang hugged her sister.

It was our turn then. So we stepped onto the stage and stood before Ozpin as he officially announces my team.

"And finally, Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)."

As soon as I heard our team name, I knew what I was in for.

"Led by… Jaune Arc."

A round of applause came as Pyrrha gave me a friendly shoulder bump, I nervously smiled back at her. Nora gave Ren a hug before moving to give one big group hug to the newly formed team.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin commended.

Yeah, thanks a lot.

"We're going to be the best team ever!" Nora said before she stopped hugging.

I continued to smile and chuckle anxiously. I guess if it keeps me off the front-lines it won't be that bad.

"Looks like things are shaping to be an… interesting year. Enjoy your stay at Beacon, I wish you all the best." Ozpin said leaving the stage.

Miss Goodwitch then walks in and took the mic. "Now that the teams are officially formed, you may now vacate to your dormitories. You will be using your own scrolls to assign yourself to a dorm. If you do not own a scroll, we will provide one for you. **[4]** Classes will begin tomorrow morning. Be sure to check your schedules and don't be late. You are dismissed." Miss Goodwitch said before concluding the assembly.

 **=o=**

1\. _Jaune is obviously making a metaphorical statement here, the Grimm don't eat nor do they need to. They simply attack sentient beings as part of their programming. The closest they get to hunger is their attraction to souls._

2\. _She didn't. Otherwise, she would have left a trail of rose petals on her position._

3\. _While it's not actually uncommon for team names to be pronounced after their leaders, Coral Grimes and Ash Davis of Team CARL and Team ASHE respectively for example. Headmaster Ozpin had a tendency to take every opportunity to assign leadership to a student that would give their team a befitting name, regardless of their leadership skill and he refuses to break the tradition of having all teams named after colors. One infamous example is Cyan Boose of Team CYAN, who lacked any leadership skills of any kind, causing his team to be one of the most chaotic teams on Beacon._

4\. _They're not exactly free. They deliberately choose not to mention that acquiring scrolls from the Beacon staff increases the student's tuition fee._

* * *

We went to the residence hall and assigned ours next door to Team RWBY's dorm. After all the stuff I've been through for the past few hours, I'm really grateful to have the entire day for myself.

"Oh, finally!" I said as I removed my armor before lying down the nearest bed.

"Yipee! We're gonna be roomies with The Defender of Podunk and the Goddess of Victory!" Nora excitedly said as she started to jump down her bed.

"Nora please… you might break the bed." Ren sighed, sitting down on his bed before yawning and passing out of exhaustion.

It looks like I'll be sharing a room with two girls for four years, I would have found this to be weird and uncomfortable if it weren't for the fact that I live with seven sisters and had to share a bed with them a few times.

Pyrrha went to take a shower while I went to take a walk around Beacon to clear my mind; Nora stayed at the dorm to watch over Ren.

While I was walking in the hall two boys were leaving their dorms when they saw me in my Pumpkin Pete hoodie. One of them looks and acts like an orange-haired stereotypical jock straight out of a bad clichéd high-school movie while the other looked like one of Rouge's ex-boyfriends except his tea-green mohawk looks awfully ridiculous even by punk standards. If I remember correctly, they're Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush from Team CRDL (Cardinal).

"Nice jacket loser." the brownish orange-haired one—Cardin, said while he and his goon laughed as they went to the other way. "Man, what a dork."

Which reminds me, I really need to buy some new clothes.

When taking a stroll around the academy, I took time to familiarize myself with Beacon's layout so I won't get lost again like yesterday. After doing so, I finally stopped at the courtyard and sat at one of the benches. I downloaded the official Beacon Academy app on my scroll so I'll be able to access some important information available to students such as news, schedules, guides, maps, and others.

I decided to contact Bleu again and update her about the whole situation. It's still fairly noon and Mantle is around the same time-zone as Vale, so she should be taking a lunch break from her classes.

"Well, look whose still breathing. Not that it surprises me or anyone for that matter." Bleu deadpanned after she appeared on my screen. "So, how did it go?"

"It was a freaking disaster; I was lucky to pass the whole thing and live," I said with blunt honesty. The whole thing could have been smoother and easier, had Ozpin been more considerate with the Grimm there.

"Oh Jaune, I'm sure it wasn't that bad.."

"Was a Nevermore and a Deathstalker supposed to be there?"

She stopped grinning. "Wait, what? You're kidding aren't you?"

I answered by glaring straight at her.

"Oh. That's strange, they shouldn't be sending Grimm that daunting for initiates, I know they Beacon can demanding when accepting students but they're not supposed to make it that arduous for initiates…"

Well, Ozpin did say earlier that they were not supposed to be in there but did nothing about it probably because they made the initiation less boring for him to watch.

"Or is security still terrible after all these years?" she questioned.

I raised my brow at that. "Were they really that bad?"

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, you did manage to get rid of them did you?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes. I killed the Nevermore. No, my other friends were the one that got rid of the Deathstalker."

"You did? That's great! I guess you really can handle more serious Grimm after all! I knew you had the strength of a Huntsman in you."

"Well actually, my team absorbed most of its damage and I had to go for the killing blow because it grabbed me." I pointed out.

"And that's your excuse? If you managed to defeat a Nevermore, then you have already proven yourself to be capable. Stop trying to deny it. You could have been a decent help in my missions with Rose and Father but instead, you keep persisting on trivial missions that only involved a few Beowolves."

I rolled my eyes at this, Bleu is helping Ozpin dig my grave now.

"What about your team? What can you tell me about them?" she inquired.

"Apparently I was good enough to become the leader of my team. Team JNPR. Yay."

"Really? That's wonderful! Mother and Father would be so proud when they hear about this!"

"Bleu please, I'm still trying to get used to this."

"Don't worry, you'll do fine, you did manage to beat me in chess remember?"

Only once and I didn't know what I was doing at the time. "Yeah…"

"So, who are the unfortunate ones who have fallen to the tyranny of my dear little brother?"

"Are you familiar with the girl on the cereal box I always ate?"

"You're not talking about Pyrrha Nikos, are you? You never bothered with Regional Tournaments."

"I don't, but now I'm paired with her as my partner. She's surprisingly friendly of someone of her skill and reputation." I stated as I feel my cheeks burn when thinking about here.

Bleu grinned when she noticed me flush. "Oh~ sounds like someone's very lucky."

I felt my cheeks become warmer, slightly irritated by her teasing. "Please don't. I've only met her yesterday and there's nothing happening between us."

She laughed. "Calm down Jaune, it was only a joke. Though you two sound perfect for each other. I hope you won't reject her like your previous dates."

I groaned. She really had to bring that up, doesn't she? Bleu still has the smart-mouth of an Arc while legitimately being the smart one among the siblings.

"Okay, I think I had enough. What about your other two teammates?" she asked, returning to the subject at hand.

"Well, there's this one girl, Nora, she's a very big fan of mine because of what I did the other day and she's hyperactive that I think her best friend looked tired all the time, who is Ren, another teammate of mine. Don't worry they're all competent in combat."

"Wow, sounds like the Headmaster got himself a powerhouse."

While I'm grateful for having powerful teammates, I'm worried that people, particularly Ozpin, would take advantage of this; my undeserved reputation doesn't help at all.

"Whatever you're doing, I wish you the best. Remember not to neglect your studies. As cliché as it may sound, knowledge is the key is to success."

Didn't Ozpin say that knowledge could only carry me so far? "I'll keep that in mind."

"I can only hope. Keep in touch. Oh, by the way, Viola has been asking if you know where your childhood scrapbook is. I'm starting to think yo—" With that, I ended the call. I'm not going to even acknowledge that, the call already ended for me.

I continued to get comfortable and looked at the bright side. I won't be experiencing any bowel-loosening terrors for a while since the following days would consist of more typical, boring school stuff with combat training being the only thing that involves fighting; it'll actually be a nice change of pace.

Oh Beacon, what else do you have to offer?

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _Before we conclude this chapter, I would like to add an extract from Headmaster Ozpin recorded sometime after the initiation. These extracts provide additional background information which Jaune either missed or ignored due to obliviousness or simply because it didn't concern him that much._

 _This excerpt details Headmaster Ozpin's thoughts on the freshmen's first two days at Beacon; it may also intrigue anyone who's interested in his inner-workings and motives during his feud with Salem._

 _Because of the contents of these documents, such as the supernatural elements and the revelation that the Grimm Wars was being fought in the shadows prior to becoming a full-scale conflict, these documents were not declassified until his secrets were eventually exposed publicly. Normally, people won't believe in such things but after Salem and the rise of several cults with access to eldritch powers, it's safe to assume that they'll believe almost anything nowadays._

The Ozpin Logs: A Promising Year

For ages I have been transferring myself from one body to another; I assumed many different identities, from an unassuming beggar to a monarch of one of the four kingdoms. I have rallied armies, ended wars, built several academies dedicated to fighting Grimm and trained generations of Huntsmen hoping to finally turn the tides of this miserable conflict the Gods sent me to.

But alas, it was never enough.

Sometimes I cannot help myself but wonder if Qrow was right with his notion that this entire war is hopeless and that Remnant is doomed that I can only delay the inevitable at best. But I have forbidden myself to give up, I have an obligation to the Gods that their creation will not succumb into hands of Chaos, no matter how slim the odds that may favour me. Nothing is truly hopeless, after all.

It is another school year at Beacon and comes yet another batch of Huntsmen-in-training. In all honesty, I was having trouble attempting to display enthusiasm over the new freshmen as I have seen too many good students turned Huntsmen die because of me. I am afraid that these children may likely follow the same fate. However, there are two remarkable students that have caught my attention.

The first one, named Ruby Rose. The daughter of two of my former students, Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose, rest her soul. She greatly resembles her mother, even having her silver-eyes. **[1]** We found her when we were almost close to tracking down who what we believed was one of Salem's pawns; I witnessed her skilfully defeat a group of criminals with the use of a scythe, one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed, thanks to being mentored by Qrow himself. The problem was that she was a couple of years too young to attend Beacon. Nevertheless, because of her prowess and enthusiasm, I deliberately chose to bend the rules for her. She was very excited to have finally had the privilege to study here and I do hope that she could make herself useful in the events yet to come, it was gratifying to know that silver-eyed warriors are still existent as I could use one in a time like this.

The other one is… more complicated to say the least. This one is name is Jaune Arc, the only son of one of my favourite pupils, Caiaphas Arc. Prior to Jaune's attendance, Caiaphas has sent three out of his seven daughters to study at Beacon; Bleu Arc was a valedictorian and became a teacher at Mantle's Huntsman Academy; Rose Arc was skilful in different types of firearms; And Rouge, despite her… disciplinary records she has the aptitude become a competent Huntress but sadly her Huntsman licence was stripped from her after an incident, which I cannot say I blame her though, she made it clear that she was more of a free spirit. Jaune, on the other hand, is a very strange one. He has shown an incredible skill of slaying several Beowolves and managed to manoeuvre a Nevermore before slaying it, prior to that, he even managed to intercept a major bandit lord and killed an Ursa Major with only a basic sword and shield, yet despite all of this he attempted to downplay all of these when discussed. He reminds me a lot of his father during his youth, always trying to find the safest way out while genuinely becoming one of the best Huntsman this school has to offer, even if it was not his initial intention. He does soon become more confident in his skills and became genuinely heroic and I do hope his son does the same. I can even recall employing his ancestor, Harry Arc, during the Great War when I was with my previous body, King Phadrig VII, like his descendents he was never keen with danger; his son and grandson, Rhysmond and Edwin Arc, also inherited this trait. Reluctance and fearfulness seem to run on Arc blood but so does great potential.

Remember, as of this recording, it is only Jaune's second day here, his will and courage should develop eventually. He'll soon learn that his gifted talents are not be wasted because he prefers to be idle during these dark times; all he needs is a little guidance. In the meantime, I will continue to watch his scholarship here with great interest.

I have made both these children leader of their respective teams. I must admit I originally made the decision for my own amusement; I was hoping to receive some entertainment out of Jaune's cowardice and Ruby's limited leadership experience to cope from the losing war with Salem, but after witnessing this two handle themselves in the initiation, I may have made the right choice.

I pray that these two unusual children may soon lead us to the happy ending we fought an eternity for.

 **=o=**

1\. _It is said that those born with silver eyes are destined to become great warriors. Grimm were believed to fear these warriors because of their supposed ability to strike them down with a single look._

* * *

 **And that's chapter two, folks! The next one will be out sooner since this chapter was in near-completion during the publication of the first chapter since I wanted the first two chapters to be the 'pilot' of this story.**

 **I also apologize if there are any inconsistencies in the fight scenes, it's my first attempt in writing them in a detailed manner.**

 **Normally, I would respond via PM's but this was from an anonymous reviewer and I don't feel like replying with another review because it would add a faux amount to the review count, so I'll answer it here: No I haven't read the fic you were talking about but being a fan of Dishonored, I'll consider checking it out.**

 **Thanks to those who left feedback at the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think and what needs improving.**

 **EDIT 11/11/2018**

 **Nice try, Rooster Teeth.**

 **EDIT 12/2/2018**

 **Another Guest has posted several reviews on their thoughts. Like I said in the above since I cannot PM guests and I refuse to respond with a review of my own, I will be putting it in here.**

 ** _"OK I know this is the first chapter but, the whole Jaune self-doubting himself really bothers me, like I get why canon Jaune doubts himself, [...] but this Jaune really has no reason to think low of himself, it really doesn't make any sense."_**

 **His reasons for his self-doubt despite being more competent than his canon counterpart will be explained soon.**

 ** _"Also, Weiss wanted nothing to do with Jaune BECAUSE he was hitting on her, so her treating Jaune like this and her not wanting to be paired up with him and instead goes with Ruby really doesn't make much sense."_**

 **She did see him run and scream away from a pack of one of the most weakest Grimm there is (at least according to Monty, who once compared them to Dragon Quest's slimes), so that didn't give her a good impression of a teammate, never mind that he did eventually stop and killed them all. As much as she finds Ruby annoying, Weiss doesn't see her cowering and would rather endure to someone like her than be with someone who she thought couldn't fight.**

 ** _"And please name one other time Jaune got motion sick other then the first time on the bullhead to Beacon."_**

 **Can't really answer that since RT did not show him traveling in any sort of vehicle (Rocket lockers and that Chibi skit where he rode Cinder's car doesn't count) before near the end of Volume 4 where he is presumed to have finally overcome it after all those months. Also, because he relies on a simple fighting style that doesn't require much acrobatics, thus he doesn't constantly feel nauseated when fighting.**

 ** _"In what way, [Jaune and Pyrrha] are perfect for each other, I'm sorry but apart from Jaune not knowing who Pyrrha is and she being so desperate for someone to treat her normally, she falls for the first guy not to know her, who just so happens to be Jaune, apart from that they really don't have much of a reason to start a relationship"_**

 **Bleu was just teasing her little brother that he was just partnered with the girl whose face was in his favorite cereal box. That, and she witnessed Jaune be a spectacular fighter made her think they would make a good couple.**

 **But you're right. As much as I like Arkos, I have to agree that "famous girl likes oblivious boy" isn't that romantic. It needs proper buildup, because the reason why Arkos works is because of their chemistry and desire to help each other with their biggest issues with Jaune's lack of combat skill and Pyrrha's need to be treated like a human, and not because Pyrrha likes someone because they're not familiar with her (and especially not because some people endorse the pairing just to protect certain ships).**


	3. First Daze

**So far, the reception has been positive. Thank you to those who left feedback on the previous chapters, really keeps me going.**

 **To celebrate the announcement of the release dates of RWBY Volume 6 and the latest upcoming Ciaphas Cain novel (October 27 and September 1 respectively), here is the next chapter of 'To Survive and Prosper'.**

 **EDIT: Fixed some grammatical and spelling errors and added a few footnotes to clear some things up.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **First Daze**

* * *

" _They say that victory comes from a small soul. If only those small souls have bigger brains."_

 ** _-Gilbert Vermilion, Political Analyst_**

I woke up to the unholy noises of the scroll's alarm and Nora's sugar-induced shouting. While it slightly irritated me, I'm rather thankful for it because I otherwise might have overslept and ended up skipping the first day of class, and that obviously won't put me in a good position. I also have been trying to overcome this habit for a while now so maybe it's my chance to finally get better sleeping patterns thanks to the class schedule requiring me everyone to rise up early in the morning. But as someone who loves sleep, this is going to take some time to get used to.

And by the way, this was nothing compared to some of the more...let's say—unorthodox methods of waking me up from my mischievous sisters.

"Good Morning, Fearless Leader!" Nora greeted, already on her uniform.

Little did she know how ironic her use of 'fearless' actually was.

So begins the first days of classes, where they would either be intriguing and provide helpful tips on how to be a Huntsman and live past the age of sixty, or bore me into sleeping or watching the clock because it's freaking school and boredom is always inevitable. Either way, it's better than running, screaming and getting everyone to kill the Grimm for you.

I looked around and saw that Pyrrha was also dressed, Ren too, after he left the bathroom with a bath basket on his hand, meaning I was the only one who wasn't prepared yet. I got up and took a shower before putting on my uniform. For breakfast I took some dumplings I took out from a Mistrali restaurant when visiting Vale yesterday. After I was done taking my morning meal and brushing my teeth, I stood in the middle of the dorm and gathered everyone on the team for the first meeting of Team JNPR.

Since I don't want my ass open in combat, I needed to persuade my team to be useful and cooperative with my orders. Pyrrha is a great fighter, but she is too used to fighting solo and was too overconfident with the Deathstalker yesterday, Nora's excited personality and strength mean she has the tendency to get aggressively reckless, and someone has to make sure Ren's somewhat limited stamina is managed wisely. If given proper direction, this team would be almost unstoppable and I don't have to worry much about myself, without it, working with these three would be chaotic at best.

"Alright, now that we are all here…" I cleared my throat. "It's now our third day in Beacon and after yesterdays… events. I just wanted to say I am grateful to have you as my teammates."

"Why, thank you," Pyrrha said, covering her cheek with one of her hands.

"Aww~" Nora commented.

"No problem," Ren said with a nod.

I gave a faint smile at them. "But like The Gre—… I mean the Headmaster said, we need to learn how to coordinate with each other to make this work. We may have proven to be efficient individual warriors; Pyrrha is a famed champion, Ren is swift, Nora is a tough cookie—and I… am basically me."

"A brave hero who ain't afraid of no-nothin'!" Nora said in a somewhat sassy tone.

"Thank you, Nora," I responded. "But they don't mean anything in the team if we don't take our roles seriously. All I'm saying is—"

I was interrupted by the loud sounds of various power tools coming somewhere from next door. Whatever it was, they chose a weird time to construct something at eight in the morning, when everyone was preparing for class.

The noises suddenly stop and I continued to where I left off. "All I'm saying that we should start working together as a team. Sure, we are pretty tough on our own, but we would barely count as a team if we just go do our own things without acknowledging one another. Because with our skills combined, we could prevail against anything that comes our way. So that's why we should conduct team-building exercises starting—"

I was again interrupted, only this time by a sound of a loud crash, followed by an angry yell from the ice queen of Team RWBY.

"I told you this wasn't going to work!"

I froze out of bewilderment for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "We'll have to continue this later, right now as the leader of Team JNPR – my first order is to check out and see if our friends in Team RWBY is alright."

"We're ready when you are," Pyrrha said as Ren and Nora nodded.

They followed me to the dorm, which was a few steps in front of ours. I knocked on Team RWBY's door. "Is everything alright?"

"I-It's nothing! Everything's fine, I have it all under control!" Ruby blatantly lied.

"Good going then." Weiss scoffed.

I guess Ruby has it hard then, sucks to be her right now. Ruby wasn't the lying type, and she sure doesn't look like it. So I bluffed my way inside it, it was sure enough to have someone like her persuaded. "Look, we only wanted to help. If we're bothering you then we'll leave."

"Wait!" Ruby said before she opened the door. She was still wearing her cloak even in uniform. "Y-You can come in."

We went inside the dorm room and was surprised to see that their dorm looked like it was recently hit by a tornado, the beds were crumpled around at the floor with some books scattered all over the place, and even ropes hanging from the ceiling. The girls seem fine, however, aside from looking pretty disappointed with how their dorm room ended up becoming (I would also like to mention that Yang looked less distracting in a school uniform).

"Oh my. What happened here?" Pyrrha questioned with a slightly shocked expression.

"We tried to make bunk beds, that's what," Weiss stated.

"We may have tried to… do so by carrying one bed with ropes and the other with a pile of books." Yang added.

Are these girls seriously kidding me? What else did they think was going to happen? It's not like ropes and books have aura that makes them strong enough to carry beds with or without somebody lying on it.

"So… what could we do to help?" I asked.

"Do we have time though?" Ren responded. "I mean it's 8:55 so..."

"Wait did you just say it's 8:55?!" Weiss suddenly exclaimed.

"Uhh… yes, I did." Ren nodded.

"Classes start at nine, you idiots!" she fumed.

I quickly checked the schedule at my scroll; she's right, five minutes and we'll be late for our first class and we cannot have that.

"Then we'll have to deal with this later! Quick, we have no time to lose!" I said, storming to class with everyone following me.

"Improvised bunk-beds, seriously?!" I said to Ruby while running at the hallway.

"Well, we were almost finished decorating after we unpacked but then we saw that there wasn't room for beds, so I thought it was a great idea to make some bunk beds." she explained.

"You guys just started to unpack?! Didn't you had the whole evening yesterday?!" I asked in disbelief.

"Geez, I don't know!"

After leaving the residence hall, the eight of us went through the courtyard when I spotted Miss Goodwitch and the Great & Powerful Ozpin staring at us. Miss Goodwitch gave a 'you kids better not have caused any trouble' glare while Ozpin just calmly watches with his coffee. I gave a nervous chuckle as we pass through.

* * *

We finally arrived at the classroom and class thankfully has yet to start. Team RWBY sat at the front row while my team took the seats behind them. The classroom contained a golden bust of a man and a blunderbuss/double-bitted axe being displayed above from the board, it even has several Grimm heads being displayed as trophies which is weird because you couldn't keep Grimm corpses as they evaporate after dying. **[1]** The whiteboard was already filled with drawings of various Grimm and their descriptions. I noticed Weiss immediately pulled out her notebook and already started writing down notes from the board in advance.

This was the part where I look someone's weapon and be baffled by how it's designed, in this case, the blunderaxe being displayed. Normally, a blunderbuss mixed with an axe sounds reasonable in paper, the problem was he had to place the freaking axehead at the stock instead of somewhere on the barrel which would have been safer to use and could still be held as an axe. Seriously, trying to use that as a rifle could risk your arm getting cut unless you know what the hell you're doing, which you couldn't have been if you came up with that design. If this was the professor's way of showing his guts, then kudos to him. I just hope it doesn't influence his students into unironically thinking that could be a neat weapon to use and inspire them to make something as stupid as that.

A few minutes later a somewhat chubby old man with a huge mustache who resembles the golden bust entered the room. Everyone suddenly started to sit upright as he puts his books on his desk. "Greetings, Huntsmen and Huntresses of tomorrow! I am Professor Peter Port." he introduced himself as he writes down his name at the vacant space on the whiteboard. "I will be your professor for Grimm Studies, where you will learn about the wretched creatures that you will or may face—from the smallest parasite to the most fearsome of titans! Whatever you may call them: Monsters! Demons~, Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Haha!"

He waited for a response, only to for it to be delivered by nothing but chirping crickets. No really, I swear I heard crickets chirp after he said that.

"Uhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." he gave Yang a wink with his brow while clicking his tongue, who responded with a groan.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!"

"Eyy yeah!" Some random moron stood up while raising his fist. Everyone stares at him before he sat down in embarrassment.

"That is what you are training to become." Port continued "But first, A story."

And that's where he lost everyone.

"A tale of a young, handsome man—me! When I was a boy..."

To make a literally long story short, this lasted for almost the entire class—which was two hours, if you may ask.

If there was anything heavier than his weight then it's my eyelids when he was telling his stories, it's that bad that even his own eyes look like they're always shut. You'd expect a class centered on learning the Huntsmen's sworn enemies should be informative and interesting, right? Well, Professor Port somehow manages to make it boring, which was something I didn't know was possible. The only thing keeping me from falling asleep with this dull excuse of a class was watching Snow White getting annoyed by Rose Red's unladylike hijinks, whether it's by showing her a crude drawing of Professor Port (or Professor Poop as she calls him in her drawing. Genius) from her notes while blowing raspberries, balancing a book with a pencil while there's an apple above said book, snoring and the most damnable of all—picking her nose.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Professor Port finally finished his story after telling it for at least a hundred minutes straight and we still haven't learned anything useful about Grimm or being a Huntsman **[2]**. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Weiss raised her left hand. "I do, sir!"

"Well then, let's find out." Port faces the cage beside him. "Step forward, and face your opponent."

Wait, what the hell? A live Grimm in class?! I know students need to show some demonstrations of their skill but that thing could start attacking the class when its strays from the volunteer, and we're unarmed during these occasions. **[3]**

"Before you do, of course, you'll have to go change into your combat gear. You will be given five minutes to prepare." Port informed.

Weiss complied and left. She returned shortly with her rapier and her 'combat skirt' and went to the front of the class and faced the cage.

"Gooo, Weiss!" Yang cheered, raising her fist.

"Fight well!" Blake waved a small flag that has their team name on it out of nowhere.

"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby said.

Weiss annoyed by this, lowered her sword. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"

Sheesh, calm down, the beast is still in the cage, show some gratitude that your team, the same people you'll be stuck with for four years—are trying to show some support.

"Oh, sorry." Ruby sheepishly apologized.

Weiss shook her head and returned her attention to the cage.

"Alright, let the match begin!" Port pulls out his ridiculous blunderaxe hybrid and used it to open the cage by smashing the lock. The Grimm charges out and reveals itself as a large boar-like Grimm—a Boarbatusk—or how Rose likes to call them—Bacon.

Weiss sliced the creature then rolled to her left, the Boarbatusk then turned back.

"Haha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port remarked.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby advised.

"Or how about you _Yang_ in there." Yang grinned.

For the sake of my sanity and well-being, I'll pretend to have not heard that.

Weiss dashed towards the Boarbatusk, trying to stab its face. Unfortunately, her rapier got stuck in its tusks with Weiss trying to pull it out.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" Port commented.

"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered.

Weiss turned to her to glare which caused Port's pet pork to swipe her rapier off to the other side of the room.

"Oh ho! Now, what will you do without your weapon?"

Weiss looked up and dodged just right in time before the Boarbatusk was able to ram her. She ran quickly to her rapier then slid to grab it.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath!" Ruby instructed.

Hey, that's actually good advice. Now if Weiss thinks she's smart then she should—

"Stop telling me what to do!"

The urge not to put one of my palms to my face then failed me.

Like some sort of hedgehog, the Boarbatusk then rolled into a ball and launches itself towards the ice-queen. Weiss summoned a glyph to block from the attempted strike. The boar was knocked back, exposing its belly. Weiss took the hint and used another glyph to leap to its stomach, stabbing it to death.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Professor Port remarked. Weiss panted before glaring at her team leader.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings—and stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

At least the class ended with something eventful, I was starting to think that this class was scheduled first to compensate for those who lacked sleep.

Weiss angrily turns away before walking out.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" I asked my team who all responded with a shrug.

Now, this is what I was worried about when I talked about team cooperation. While Weiss has shown that she could handle herself, she let her arrogance get the best of her. If she just listened to Ruby for a moment, the entire thing would have been shorter. I know Ruby can be obnoxious, but if she's trying to help and is actually acting like a leader, then at least try to hear her out. Thankfully, since my team is composed of friendly faces, (I don't know much about Ren, but he seems fine), so it's easier to make them comply. That still doesn't mean that I didn't need to drill them, they still need to be taught how to properly work together as a team.

 **=o=**

1\. _They're actually taxidermy recreations of the Grimm he have slain. This is rather a common practice done by those who hunt Grimm for sport._

2. _That or Jaune didn't pay attention to the Professor's accounts, which surprisingly provided some useful information regarding Grimm abilities and weaknesses as well as proper Huntsmen comportment that was worth taking notes off._

3. _Although it's unnoticeable, captured Grimm in Huntsmen academies are implanted with shock restrainers which are triggered in case the creature gets loose._

* * *

As I left the classroom, I took out my scroll and reviewed the schedule to see where to go next:

Freshman Class Schedule (1st Semester) – Monday, Wednesday & Friday:

0900 – 1100 hrs. Grimm Studies (Prof. Port)

1100 – 1230 hrs. History & Social Studies (Dr. Oobleck, Ph.D.)

1230 – 1400 hrs. Recess

1400 – 1530 hrs. Dust Studies (Prof. Peach)

1530 – 1700 hrs. Physical Education & Combat Training (Prof. Goodwitch)

If you're wondering why they had to use the 24-hour clock the military uses, it's because they wanted to remind you that Huntsmen are essentially glorified soldiers—but due to academies' emphasis on individualism and diversity within colors, they didn't want you to feel like one in a military academy. **[1]**

Since the school provided me with some books vital for some classes, I went straight to the locker room and grabbed my history textbook and headed to the next class. On my way there, Cardin, the dumb jock haircut guy, knocked my arm off while he was passing through, causing my books to drop.

"Hey!"

"Welcome to Beacon, bunny boy!" he said, laughing to himself while he walks away.

I glared at him for a few seconds before picking up my books and just went to class. He was not worth my time, I'll let him screw around until he gets bored or something.

I went to the classroom and sat next to Ruby. In contrast to the previous class, Team RWBY and JNPR were scattered around the classroom instead of sitting near together.

The classroom looked like the room belonged to a very dedicated investigator or an overanalyzing conspiracy theorist rather than a professor from Sanus' finest academy—with piles of books and paper littered everywhere on the front and some of the papers sticking on the walls while other books are stored in the two shelves, with varying degrees of organization. Instead of a board, we get a huge map of Remnant with some paper attached to it which were being connected to one another by red strings.

"Uhh, Jaune?" Ruby shook my shoulder while we were waiting for the professor to show up.

"Yeah, Ruby?"

"Am I a bad leader?" her question shocked me. Was Weiss really that harsh on her after last class?

"Ruby, it's only your first day as a leader, you still have a lot to prove before you can let people judge you." I said. "If you ask me, I think you're a great leader, you did a great job yesterday on getting rid of that Deathstalker with your team." I actually didn't saw how Ruby and her team got rid of that bug though, since I was too occupied with the Nevermore to even watch her; all I know for sure is that she just did it. **[2]**

That seemed to cheer her up for a second but she was still doubting herself. "I know but… what if Ozpin really did make a mistake—and I'm really not fit to be the leader of this team."

Oh boy, I guess the pressures of being of leadership is already getting the best of her. To be fair, who says carrying the badge and the burden of a leader was easy?

"Look, Ruby, you're a really nice girl and you came here to protect people from Grimm, right?"

She responded by nodding.

"Then just be yourself and lead by example. I can see a heart of a Huntress in you, you just need to let others see that so they could know what a Huntsman should be. Don't let someone like Weiss discourage you because she couldn't see that yet. Just give yourself a chance."

She pondered these words before she finally stopped frowning and shifted back to her usual cheerfulness. "Well, I guess that made me feel better. Thank you, Jaune. I'll take your word."

"Anytime, Ruby," I said. "You know, I think it would have taken longer for Weiss to kill the Grimm if you didn't point out where its weak-spot was."

She continued to smile at me. It's just a shame that I am mostly doing to this to uphold my 'nice guy' façade and she is taking advice from a self-serving fraud; she deserves much better than that.

Suddenly, a voice came to our attention. "Alright everybody, settle down!" A man with messy green hair wearing a pair of glasses said as he entered the room before sipping from his cup and trotting to the front.

"My name is Bartholomew Oobleck—DOCTOR Oobleck, please remember that." he said before taking another sip. "I will be your professor for History and Social Studies. Now, as Huntsmen and Huntresses you are tasked with safeguarding this planet from the Grimm, but what kind of Huntsmen are you if you know nothing about the world you are fighting for? That is why we are having this class."

He took another sip while looking around the class and turned his head at me. "You there! Stand up and introduce yourself." he ordered.

Wait, why me?! Let me guess, it's because my last name left some of its marks in history.

"Well I… umm…" I stuttered.

"Come on now, don't be shy!" he said.

I hesitantly stood up and introduced myself. "Well… my name is Jaune Arc… The leader of Team JNPR" I said, turning my head to my teammates as they waved.

"Thank you, Mr. Arc, please be seated." he said as I complied. "Now, does that last name remind you of something?"

Of course, Weiss was the one that rose her hand and stood up. "Harry Arc, also known as 'The Flash', a renowned war hero of Vale during the Great War, who was responsible for many of Vale's victories during the conflict."

"Superb! It seems that someone's been learning their history." Doctor Oobleck remarked as Weiss sits down. "That is one of the many stories told in history, it shows you how rich the world of Remnant is. You see, Jaune here is the great-great-grandson of Harry Arc." he said as I try not to cover my face out of embarrassment. "It doesn't end with just him, Harry Arc's son and the son after him, also contributed something as well."

Thankfully, he stopped right there and did not bring up my Dad or me and my fiasco at Podunk. "But enough about the Arcs! Their stories are for another day! Our first lesson will be the rise of the Empire that was. I'm sure you have all learned this countless times before, but students tend to forget it after the end of the year and history is more important than it looks!" he said before clearing his throat. "Before there were the four kingdoms, there was once an empire that united Remnant… or most of it at least."

He went on and taught about the birth of the Remnant Empire and their contributions to early civilization while it spreads its culture around Remnant by slowly conquering its neighbors, at least that's what I got, because I got lost at the middle of the lecture because he was talking too fast while zooming around the classroom like a madman that I got tired of catching up. I spent most of the class skimming at random pages in my history book for anything interesting.

"…by this age, the empire now controls one-third of Remnant." he then took a deep breath and paused before the school bell rang. "That's all for today, tomorrow we will discuss the Empire's finest hour to their eventual fall. Please study pages 16 to 23. You are dismissed."

With that, we stood up and left the class for lunch. All these lectures were making us hungry and we were given an hour and a half to eat and unwind, which is something I needed because I felt a little agitated after that, he just had to bring up my family to provide an example of one of Remnant's historical figures, don't get me wrong, my ancestors are cool and all but they just remind me of greatness and bravery that I cannot emulate myself, at least legitimately. It doesn't help that the professor seemed to recognize who I was and probably expects me to be as significant as them. **[3]** This, added with my reputation, makes this class somewhat troublesome.

 **=o=**

1\. _Paramilitary of you want to get technical, and military time is used to familiarize students with it. On any other occasion, the standard 12-hour clock is used._

2. _Ruby had me freeze the Deathstalker while Blake distracted it. She then sliced off the gland before Yang punched it off the bridge._

3. _Like most people, Jaune was not aware that his ancestors had to suffer the same dilemma he had to go through._

* * *

We were sitting down taking lunch. Of course, we were next to Team RWBY, who were growing to become our unofficial sister team ever since the initiation; it made me a bit concerned for them. Ruby and Weiss were just ignoring each other while Yang is chattering about something in which Blake just responds by nodding disinterestedly. As much as I want to help, this was Ruby's responsibility, she's barely going to learn anything herself if I solve her team's discords for her. Besides, I have my own team to worry about, which reminded me of the little training initiative I was planning earlier.

"Hey, Jaune. Is there anything bothering you?" Pyrrha asked, noticing my concerned expression.

"Oh, nothing in particular," I lied. "It's just that I was thinking about the team-building exercises we were planning."

Nora was trying to say something with her mouth full, which was just as comprehensible as one would expect, it wasn't clear until she swallowed her food. "What's on your mind then, Fearless Leader?"

I would have told them then but this was private business with my team and I didn't want an outside party to potentially ruin it for me, like that one stupid cardinal throwing small beans at me, trying to get my attention. "We'll discuss it later at the dorm, right now, eat up, you're going to need it."

"Okie-Dokie!" Nora went back into munching her sandwich.

After we were done eating, we gathered to the dorm and went on to plan for 'Operation: Golden Horse Training'. The three of them all lined up at the middle as they listened to me while I walk back and forth.

"Alright gang, ever since we found ourselves to be mutual holders of the white knight chess piece, I knew that if we want Grimm to fear us, we must put some practice on our dynamics as a team," I said. "So, the first thing we need is—" I stopped walking around when I saw Nora standing up straight while wearing a green army helmet "Uh, what are you wearing?" I asked, losing my confident tone of authority.

"Standard issue protective headgear. Sir!"

I gave a puzzled look. I know what that is, obviously. What I meant was 'where did that come from?' I then turned at Ren for a candid answer.

"Oh, she likes to play dress-up sometimes, she brought a few costumes with her when we got here."

I raised my brow at this. "She does cosplay?" I curiously inquired.

"I prefer not to answer." he said, his eyes noticeably widened for a bit.

I cringed slightly for a second before turning to Nora. I gotta keep an eye on her, the last thing I want is to know is that weird stuff happens in this room while I'm gone. **[1]** "Alright, at ease, soldier. You're just as fine yourself—no need for you to wear that." I said, sort of playing along.

"Sir, thank you, sir!" Nora said as she discarded her helmet and went back to her usual demeanor. "…I mean, of course, dear leader! Anything you say!" she said with a salute.

"Now, where was I?" I resumed. "Ah, of course, the first thing we need is a place where we could practice in peace. We could only do so much in this room, and that's only assuming we somehow don't trash it. So, does anyone know where we can train?"

The room was silent for seconds, indicating that they have no answer. Well, we've only been here for three days and even if we spent most of our time here exploring the academy, we were still not sure of an available space to train. "Nothing, then? Alright then, don't worry, we just need to scout a place, starting right now. Make sure it has enough space for us to train, and be sure it a place where no one can disturb us, and remember: this is private JNPR business, tell no one about this, not even Team RWBY unless I say so. Understood?"

They all nodded. "Good. Meeting adjourned." We all went to our separate ways to spend our own time for remaining minutes of recess.

 **=o=**

1. _Jaune may rest knowing that there was nothing suggestive on Nora's wardrobe, and she mostly wear them out of sheer playfulness. That's what Ren told me at least._

* * *

When the bell rang, I immediately went to the Dust Lab to take Professor Peach's class. Since I seldom use dust, this was going to be the toughest subject in my opinion, at least when it comes to not watching the clock. I predict it be to something like science class, only that it's focused on colorful magic rocks.

"Students," A woman in her early to mid-thirties called. She had orange hair, was wearing some safety goggles and a lab gown "Welcome to Dust Studies. I am Professor Bonnie Peach, I will the one guiding you into learning about these useful tools and teach you how to use them. All of you had at least used dust at one point in your lives, so even if you don't consider yourself as a 'dust user', this subject will still be vital to you as a Huntsman, especially if you plan to compete in the tournament, where you are likely to face a dust user and want to know how to counter them." she then went to the chalkboard and started writing down 'Dust 101' "Now to start, please turn your textbooks to the introduction page."

She looked at the class and then noticed something when she adjusted her goggles. "My-my. Do my eyes deceive me? Are you Weiss Schnee? The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Yes, I am, professor," Weiss responded.

"Oh. It's just I'm a huge fan of your singing. I'm also a staunch supporter of your father's company." Professor Peach said.

She sings? I hope she doesn't shatter glasses or make birds explode when doing so. **[1]**

"Why, thank you, ma'am."

"If you don't mind, would you like to read the introduction here in the front?" Professor Peach asked.

"It would be an honor."

An heiress of a dust company whose fighting style seemed to involve heavy use of dust will likely to excel a subject based around dust? How shocking.

Other comments made about her were much less friendly than mine, to say the least.

"Ugh, her again? I really cannot stand this skank."

"Yeah. When will she just fuzz off?"

"Never liked the Schnees. Damn rich bigots."

I cannot help but feel sorry for Weiss. Yeah, she has a crappy attitude that I could spend two whole pages writing about. But being an heir of a multi-million lien company has its downsides, which must be a huge pain to deal with.

This day's lesson was about the basics and origins of dust, something I already knew after studying it multiple times with Bleu. When it was over, we went to our lockers to get our weapons for Phys-Ed/Combat Class taught by Miss Goodwitch herself. I have mixed feelings about combat class, while I do appreciate its practicality, I fear that I might end up getting picked for a match which I either have to make my worsen my undeserved reputation by winning, or disappoint my team and friends and expose myself as a sham by losing. The best case scenario is to get lucky enough not to get picked, but I don't know if I could count on my luck on one of these days.

The combat hall was already filled with almost every other freshmen teams in school. I sat beside my team and waited for Miss Goodwitch.

Miss Goodwitch entered a few minutes later, she then stood at the middle of the arena, causing the chatter to fade with all eyes on her without uttering a single word. She looked around the classroom for a moment before she began to speak.

"Good afternoon, students, how was your first day of class treating you all? I hope you've found yourselves comfortable in your teams and classes. Now, let us begin the class you have all been waiting for."

Or have been worrying about.

"As some of you may have guessed, this is the most important class in this school, as it trains your physique, skills and tactical knowledge as you demonstrate them. As Huntsmen and Huntresses, you must always be prepared to engage in combat anytime, anywhere." she then pulled out a copy of the student's Beacon handbook. "Please refer to your handbooks for the guidelines written for the course."

We were given a few minutes to read the contents regarding combat training in our handbooks before we were asked to stop and return our attention to Miss Goodwitch.

"In preparation, you will be given thirty minutes of warm-up exercises. We will need to make sure that your bodies are prepared to partake in combat training. To begin, I want you all to start by standing up and forming a line outside. You will run thirty laps around the courtyard."

And so it begins.

 **=o=**

1. _I take offense to that._

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _Since Jaune did not bother writing down the rules of engagement during combat matches in his accounts, I took the liberty to add them here as an excerpt. It should satisfy the curiosity of readers who wish to know more about the procedures of class duels among Beacon students._

"Rules of Training Matches" from the Student's Beacon Handbook

 _[This version was the one used in Jaune's first year at Beacon. The current version being used today is more or less the same, with slight differences.]_

Matches will consist of two teams. Teams may consist of a single or multiple members. Usually, both teams must have a balance of quantity but if one member is proven to be too adept enough, then they are to be matched with more than one opponent that could range to an entire team, with only limited assistance or none-at-all, depending on the participant's skill level or the handicap needed to maintain the balance of power between the participants.

The duration of the matches ranges from three-to-ten minutes. When the timer runs out, the team that holds the most aura combined wins. **[1]** Another method of winning is to deplete all of the opponents' aura to red (15% and below). Participants who wish to forfeit may do so by simply declaring oneself as forfeit.

Be reminded that your performance during matches are graded.

Here are a few guidelines and regulations to follow during a match:

1\. If a participant's aura is in the red, that participant must now exit the arena, their opponent must cease attacking defeated participants to avoid serious injury.

2\. All participants must stay at the ring during the match, failure to do so will have the participant lose by ring-out.

3\. Cheating of any kind is not permitted.

4\. The participant's team may cheer for their team-mate(s) but are not allowed to interfere as with the rest of the audience.

5\. Explosives are not allowed as it may cause too much damage to the premises and possibly injure spectators. Non-Lethal explosives are allowed but must have proper verification by the professor before being taken to the arena.

6\. Do not attempt to attack the spectators.

7\. Foul play is prohibited.

8\. Try to cause as minimum damage to the room as possible, even if the arena was built to be durable.

9\. Kindly follow all the commands issued by the professor with no exceptions.

10\. No lollygagging. **[2]**

 **=o=**

1\. _During team battles, teams have a separate aura indicator that measures all of the team member's aura into one. This was mentioned in an earlier section on the guidebook._

2\. _More specifically: Do not stall, thereby, making a mockery of the match. This was made more clear in later editions._

* * *

The warm-up exercises were tiring (especially for Ren) but I managed to get through them since Dad had to put me on the same thing. I had to go through push-ups, sit-ups, and some stretching. At least I didn't have to punch tree trunks hundreds of times; I still remember getting splinters from those things, somehow bypassing my aura. **[1]**

We were given time to rest before being sent back to the combat hall where the real action begins.

"Before we start selecting participants for the matches, will all of you to kindly pull out your scrolls?" Miss Goodwitch commanded. "You may notice an app that says 'Team Data', tap on it."

I proceeded to do just that. My screen then started to display portraits of me and my teammates, each having its own green a full green aura gauge.

"As you see, you are now looking at you and your teammate's aura levels. You will be using this during combat situations starting today, I advise you to regularly refer to it during such circumstances."

So far, this was the most beneficial thing the school has given me. I always needed to keep track of my aura to make sure I'm not toast. I don't know how it got the scroll to read its user's aura levels though, **[2]** but as long as it works, I really don't care how.

"Now that you all know how to keep track of your aura, let us finally begin the matches."

"Alright!" Nora cheered with other students who were excited to see some action.

"First off, I would like to introduce to you to Umi Hisakawa," Miss Goodwitch gestured to a girl in a geisha attire, wearing a light-blue kimono. "She's a senior here in Beacon. She was selected to be your opponent for this day before you will be able to face one another. She will demonstrate some pointers to consider during battle." Miss Goodwitch continued as Umi pulls out a fan and cools herself. "Would anyone like to volunteer?"

Several eager students raised their hands. "Very well." Miss Goodwitch said. "Brook Lane of Team BFYR (Bonfire), please come to the stage at once."

"Oh, hell yeah!" Brook said.

Once at the stage, Brook pulls out his spiked baseball bat and began facing his opponent.

"This will be a one-on-one battle. You will be given three minutes to strike your opponent down until they are unable to fight. If the timer runs out and none of you has still fallen, whoever has the most aura wins." Miss Goodwitch stated. "You have read your handbook, have you, Mr. Lane?"

"I have, Miss Goodwitch."

"Then I'm assuming you know the rules of engagement then?" she further questioned.

"Yes, ma'am"

"Good, then let us begin."

She then leaves the stage before all the lights—save for the one on the arena turned off. Two screens appeared on the front of the hall, each showing one of the combatant's gauges, both of which are full.

"Hey, just so you know: I'm not gonna hit your pretty face, so don't worry." Brook flirted as he readied his bat.

"That's a shame, I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge," Umi replied while still fanning herself.

"Eh?"

"Begin!" Miss Goodwitch declared.

Brook held his bat with both of his hands as he started to charge at his opponent. Umi then fanned herself for a couple more times before revealing blades coming out of her fans. Surprised, Brook stopped when Umi started to throw the blades at him which he barely dodged and deflected due to the weight of his weapon. Umi then pulled out another bladed fan and proceeded to dash into Brook while spinning. Brook deflected her strikes but had trouble trying to counter her attacks due to her speed.

Brook was then pushed to the ground, looking at his aura to see at that's it's already at 71%. He then angrily jumps back and changed his bat to an assault rifle and fired at the senior. Umi used her fans to shield from the bullets while walking towards him. When his clip ran out, Umi stormed towards him as Brook quickly tried to change back to a bat while anticipating her next attack, only for Umi to swipe away his weapon up into the air before pulling a roundhouse kick in his face, knocking him again to the ground. Brook went back up as swiftly as he could before he caught his bat while it was falling (and conveniently did not caught it on the spiked part.) He swung it towards her face which she blocked with both of her fans, Brook head-butted her knocking her back slightly, he then swung his bat when Umi dodged right in time and used both of her bladed fans to slice his back multiple times. Staggered, Brook continued to swing his bat before turning around and saw his face getting swiped by a fan and fell down on his back.

Umi turned to the audience to give a bow as the buzzer and lights came back on.

Yikes. I don't think I'll ever see pretty Mistrali girls in kimonos the same way ever again.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Lane's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Brook is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." Miss Goodwitch said as she steps back to the stage. "After witnessing that match, you should have now learned that you should not underestimate your opponents and that one's appearance can be deceiving."

"Hmph." Umi harrumphed as puts one of her fans back to her sash and fanned herself again with the other. Brook made an embarrassed chuckle while he was still on the ground.

"Mr. Lane, you may now return to your seat." Miss Goodwitch looks at him before he nodded then pushed himself up and walked out of the arena while audibly grunting. "That was only the introduction to combat matches, while you have all proven yourselves to be worthy of Beacon's attendance, remember than you are still Huntsmen-in-training and have much to learn. Since we still have an hour before dismissal and Miss Hisakawa still has 96% of her aura left. Who else would like to volunteer?"

After the last match, the class became much more hesitant when volunteering that no one raised their hand, and instead just looked at each other.

"Became wary after the last match, have you?" Miss Goodwitch commented. "Good, then you are all learning not to be reckless. Worry not, you are not going to face against Miss Hisakawa in a duel, instead, you will be training with her while she demonstrates some pointers for combat. Matches will resume next month. For now, you will need to hone your skills first." she told us. "Now, would Luna Mona of Team VILE (Violet) kindly enter the arena?"

The rest of the class had us learning about combat moves and tips. I mostly paid attention to the other students' fighting styles, in case I happen face to them, I would have a strategy.

Eventually, the bell rang, marking the end of our first day at class.

"Remember everything you've learned today, your future careers as Huntsmen will depend on it. I will see you all tomorrow." Miss Goodwitch said before everyone left the combat hall.

 **=o=**

1\. _Probably because Jaune lost focus sometime during the exercise, thus, deactivating his aura._

2. _The application works when the scroll is in contact with the user's aura. This works even if the scroll is in the user's clothing such as pockets and even bags, as long as they are connected to the body._

* * *

The team and I spent the rest of the day looking for a vacant spot for team training. We've checked to see if students are permitted to use the combat hall to train after hours. Unfortunately, they're closed after classes and are only open during weekends in the afternoon, where it will be very likely to be occupied by the other students. We soon split up and went on doing our own things while still trying to look a place. When we gathered to our dorm room later, Ren and Nora told me that the good spots were taken by the other students, while Pyrrha said she was still working at it. I sighed and told them to resume this tomorrow and get some long-needed rest.

It was around ten o'clock, or 2200 hours if you follow the military time. I was sitting on my bed, updating this journal and reviewing the notes I have written during combat class and others based on observations of my teammates during their performance yesterday when Nora called me.

"Jaune?" she asked tapping my shoulder. She was wearing her pajamas which consisted of a black t-shirt that has a print that says 'boop' with her logo making up the second 'o' and a pink short patterned with white thunderbolts, which suited her, I guess.

"Yes, Nora, what is it?" I asked.

"Can you get me a glass of water? I know you might be busy but the fridge is empty; I would have told Ren or Pyrrha but they're both asleep and I don't want to bother them."

I'd ask if she could have done it herself, but I guess there wasn't any harm in doing it. As the team leader, it was my duty to look after my team. I felt like taking a quick stroll at Beacon during the night anyway.

"Okay, sit tight, I'll get you something to drink," I said.

"Aww~ Thank you, you're the best!" she said loudly while trying not to wake up the others before giving a quick hug.

I patted her back before letting go, she went back to her bed while I hid my journal and notes. I left the dorm with an empty glass cup on my left hand. I slowly and quietly closed my dorm room before walking to where I recall the nearest water dispenser was located.

As I was about to pass Team RWBY's dorm, the door suddenly opened causing me to stop out of instinct. Weiss walked out of the room and then stopped to say something.

"Hey, Ruby… I always wanted bunk beds as a kid," she spoke in an amiable tone, which was something I wasn't used to hearing. I was happy for them though. Thank goodness to whatever that made them get along. **[1]** I was worried I had to deal with Red Vs. White drama in a neighboring team for so long.

She closed the door and saw me on the hallway, thankfully, it wasn't that awkward, I was wearing the new PJs I bought yesterday, which was simply just a black T-shirt and blue sweatpants, so she didn't have to suffer into seeing me in those onesies unlike Yang the other day. I kept the bunny slippers though, which she didn't seem to notice or mind if she did. She was still wearing her usual outfit, which led me to assume that she was on her way to the locker room to clean up and change.

It was rather rude to just pass her without saying something, sure her first impressions weren't good, but being uncivil would only infuriate her and I couldn't bear with an ice queen this late at night. She seemed to be in a good mood, so I thought it was appropriate to be courteous.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey." she replied as she fixed her bangs with one of her hands while hesitantly making eye-contact.

"So… how are the beds?" I asked.

"We got real bunk beds now. I wouldn't say Miss Goodwitch was happy when she saw our room in shambles though." she answered.

I slightly chuckled at that remark. "At least you got what you guys wanted. Anyway, I… uh, gotta go. The Valkyrie needs her water." I stuttered, showing her the empty glass as I passed through her before I could make this encounter awkward.

"Jaune?" she called.

"Yeah?" I stopped at my tracks and turned back at her.

"When Pyrrha said you'd make a great teammate… I hope she's right. You seemed to be a lot more capable than you look. Don't take this the wrong way, but if it wasn't for the revelation of your skills, I would have thought of you as some unqualified idiot who somehow cheated his way into Beacon." she admitted.

Cheating into Beacon? What kind of warped alternate version of myself would go as far as to commit such an act? Not being accepted into Beacon would have been the most relieving thing that would've ever happen to me.

"I just hope you continue on whatever you're doing that keeps your team afloat." she continued. "…and I mean it. Look, I'm sorry about how I acted earlier and I know our initial meetings weren't exactly ideal, I let my temper get the better of me. Now, everyone must've thinks I'm sort of a snob."

Yeah, I can see where she was coming from. Stress can make a person look unlikable. "Must be rough being an heiress, huh?"

"Exactly. People wanted to live like royalty, but they do not know the everyday stresses and burdens as one. My father, for instance, for all his flaws, at least wants the best for us, but I could barely go a single day without hearing him yell because of what he had to go through daily. It doesn't help that people always seem to remember our shortcomings, but always forget when we do good."

I can't help but agree with her. I've seen a few individuals being portrayed based on one of their actions, and people think they've become experts of that person when in reality, there was more to it than that.

She then took a deep breath and looked back at me. "I think I'm getting carried away. All, I'm saying is… thank you for understanding. I guess Pyrrha was lucky to have you all, huh?"

Maybe. I subtly looked down at that. I don't know if getting paired with and being led by someone like me was beneficial for her.

"It was my pleasure… Snow Angel." I slipped out a nickname out of habit. I realized this and then smacked myself as I wasn't supposed to call anyone with sardonic nicknames as they could contradict my charade.

"Jaune, people call me a lot of names but that's probably the worst one yet," she remarked with slight irritation, although thankfully not noticing that I acted somewhat snide for a second there.

"Sorry. I didn't know what came out on my mind." I sheepishly apologized.

"But still, thank you. I really needed to get that off my chest," she said.

"You're welcome." I nodded.

We smiled at each other before going our separate ways. It was actually nice to have a chat with Weiss while she's not acting like some anger-management attendee. But I should remember that this was only one time and she was in a better mood, as far as I know, her heart is still far from melted.

 **=o=**

1\. _After Grimm Studies, I was given a talk by Professor Port. He convinced me to savor what I had and continue on what I do best as a huntress instead of complaining about not being chosen as a leader. Say what you wish about Professor Port and his tall tales but he knows exactly what he is talking about, and I highly respect him for that._

* * *

It's now Thursday, apart from the class schedule being somewhat different and that professors were now giving us homework—much to our chagrin, it was just more of the same day. Yes, that meant Professor Port spent the majority of his class telling his stories again and it was just as entertaining as one may guess.

It was recess and I was done taking lunch. I went to the library to study some notes while working on my team's strategy and tactics. Since I study better with fewer people in the room, I headed to the private section of the library where only a few go to. I found that place by simply wandering around, I bet that most students don't know it even existed.

As I entered the private section, I almost dropped my notes when I saw Blake, who was just as startled as me that she stood up and stopped whatever she was reading and quickly and almost instantly covered it with her other books. I didn't know what to expect.

"Ahh!" We screamed simultaneously.

"Blake?!"

"Jaune?! Wha-What are you doing here?" she asked, holding her books tight on her chest.

"I-I didn't know you were here! They say this place was always empty!"

"Could you two lovebirds keep it down?! This is a library." An annoyed student called from the main section.

"Sorry!" I said while lowering my voice. Also, lovebirds? I know her the least from Team RWBY, judging by her demeanor, she seemed to be introverted, preferring the company of her books than people. I looked back towards Blake who was flushed and still was clenching her books. "Look, I'm very sorry, If I'm bothering you then I'll just go."

I turned back and was about to leave. "Wait!" Blake called. "It's okay. I'd be selfish if I keep this place for myself."

"Oh—umm… Thank you." I said as I slowly walked back inside.

"On one condition," Blake said, gesturing with her index finger. "You stay on that half, I'll stay on this; that way, we couldn't bother each other, got it?"

"That seems fair." I really couldn't find a reason to say why not, Blake wasn't the type to bother which was why I didn't need to worry about her.

We spent our remaining free-time reading our own things, not minding one another, but I was having a hard time concentrating for some reason, I didn't know why. When I thought about it, my conscience directed me toward Blake, not herself, but oddly enough—her bow. I don't know why I'm having suspicions over a girl's accessory. Sure, it looks too huge that it made her look like she had cat ears, but aside from that, there was really nothing to it. It was just a bow.

I was starting to get irritated at my own mind being paranoid over a piece of headwear, so in attempts to get it off, I bought it up.

"Hey, Blake. I just wanted to say—uh, you have a really cute bow."

Well, that's a start. I pretty much grew up to be confident around people of the opposite sex, other boys to either lack confidence or be too confident, thus talking to girls outside my own mother doesn't feel alien to me; living with seven sisters and dating a few girls back at Pucelle probably helped.

"Thanks? I guess." she confusedly looked back to me before looking down and adding. "You know, this might sound a little weird but—it's a part of me. I don't think I could show myself without it."

She sounded a little too passionate over a huge bow but I guess that's Blake for you.

"Hey, it looks good on you, but I think you'll look just fine without it. Beauty comes from its natural form." I pointed out, and yes, I know how corny it sounded but it helps enforce my public persona.

"You don't know that, trust me," she responded somewhat bluntly.

"Maybe not but you won't know own beauty if you keep hiding it from yourself."

She gasped at me with her eyes widening. I looked at her confused, there wasn't anything I said that was remotely offensive, and I made sure I was careful enough not to.

"I'm sorry, was it something I said?"

"No—it's nothing, just please stop talking about it."

"Look, Blake, if I offended you then I—"

"Don't. Look, I know you mean no harm and have no reason to apologize—I just… I…I don't want to talk about it."

"If that's what you wish." I went back to studying my notes. If she's not comfortable talking about this then why bother, though she could at least tell me what was wrong.

Blake sighed. "You know, I think you really are a good person." she cheered up and smiled at me.

Sadly, I don't think I could agree with her on that. It was only smart to make sure you're on everyone's good side.

"I just need to think about what you said," she said before looking back at her book.

We went back to minding our own business until the bell rang and we went back to class. I finally got to talk to Blake for once, though I don't know what that was all about—then again, this was Blake, I didn't know much about her compared to her teammates; she was like the only person on this circle that I never properly met on the first day. I'll learn more about her soon enough. Right now, I have more important things to take care of.

* * *

Classes for today were finally over. Spending seven hours of lectures after years of being home-schooled in the comfort of a familiar environment takes some getting used to.

I left the classroom when I heard Pyrrha call me, I turned around to listen to what she has to say.

"Hey, Pyrrha. What's new?" I asked.

"Jaune, I think I may have found a place for us to train." she said.

Finally some great news, I thought. "Really?! Great! Let's notify Ren and Nora."

"You summon us, brave leader?" Nora instantly popped out of nowhere, startling both of us, with Ren catching up, panting.

"What's seems to be the issue?" Ren asked while leaning at the nearest wall.

"Good news, Pyrrha found a spot, we can begin training right now."

"Really?! Oh, finally! We are going to have so much fun training with each other!" Nora ecstatically said.

"Right, right," I nodded before turning back to my partner. "Pyrrha, would you lead the way?"

"Of course. Follow me."

We followed her as she took us to what would be Team JNPR's training spot. She took us to a series of stairs which then led us to a rooftop. It was an empty space save for some black pipes placed around and a pair of air-conditioner units standing near the walls between the entrance. While it was spacious enough, the parapets were too short that they're barely a foot tall, which could risk any of us falling if we're not careful, so we had to limit acrobatics during training just to be safe. Better than nothing at least.

"So what do you think?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's good enough, the problem is that we could fall given how short the walls are, but aside from that, this will do just fine, we just have to be careful especially with acrobatic stunts," I told them.

"Sounds reasonable," Pyrrha said.

"So, where do we start?" Nora bounced, stretching her fingers.

I took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before beginning the session. "Alright, so we are here not only to practice our skills but to make sure we could work as a team."

"And don't forget: We're also here so we could help you unlock your semblance!" Nora added.

I almost forgotten about that, had she not reminded me about it, which I wish she didn't since I didn't want everyone worrying about my semblance. "Oh right, that too. But first, we have to establish your combat roles so we can begin." I said.

I first turned to Ren. "Ren, since you're the most mobile of all of us, you'll be the recon of this team. Since You have limited amounts of stamina, do your best to make each one of them count."

"Got it." he nodded.

"Nora, you're weapons pack a lot of punch, so you'll be in charge of demolition and be our heavy damager. You'll have to follow my instructions to make the most of it."

"Understood!" she bounced into a straight statute then saluted.

"Pyrrha, since you're the most skilled here and have the most flexible combat style, you'll be in charge of the front-lines and the main offensive." And be my bodyguard on the battlefield.

"What about you?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'll mainly be support as I issue orders, but I'll help if I can." Which by that, I mean if an enemy has gotten too close and I have no other choice. I'll mostly stay at the sidelines, providing supporting fire—if I had a gun, which I would have bought if I didn't blow my money on clothes, so I had to save some money until I could buy one or maybe find one lying around.

"So, any questions?" I clapped my hands and looked at my team who all responded with silence. "Now that's settled, let's move on to some of my personal advice during combat." I cleared my throat. "First off: Don't fight fair."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Good question, I'm talking about fighting Grimm. Of course, during friendly duels with fellow Huntsmen, we have to fight honorably and abide the rules," Though, if you ask me, I'd say that unless your opponent is a friend, don't give them the chance to win while making sure you're not violating the rules. I'm sure that the opponent has the same idea. "But the Grimm lacks the concept of honor, rules, and cannot be reasoned with, they want you dead as soon as they feel you, so do everything you can to get rid of them."

They seem to get the point.

"Next is during combat matches and other forms of competition: When on the offensive, we need to find a way to signal each other without giving away our attacks. Calling our attacks would only give the enemy a chance to react especially if they're familiar with us. So, are there any suggestions on how we could call each other?"

Nora then raised her hands. "Oh! Oh! We could use animal sounds as codes!"

"I'm sorry, what?" her answer was odd that I have to ask if I heard right.

"As silly as it may sound, I'll have to second her on that," Ren chimed in. "It leaves the enemy confused at the noise while it signals your allies. It's also how we ended up as partners, believe it or not."

"Interesting. Mind giving an example?"

"Here is the sound of the sloth! It helped me and Ren get together as partners." Nora said before demonstrating the sound. "Qrr-aa! Qrr-aa! Qrr-aa!"

I raised my brow at the strange noises my teammate just made. I was convinced to accept it since Ren was correct about it being confusing while being audible to our teammates. "Okay, that could work."

"I still doubt that sloths sound like that," Ren commented.

"And last but not the least: Don't be afraid to run away from battles you know you can't win. When people hear this, they might call you a coward, but there is a difference between cowardice and caution. As Huntsmen, we needed to be in best fighting shape as possible, we can't waste ourselves on hopeless battles when we still have a lot of lives to save." I told them. I needed my team to follow my example of not disregarding your own life. Just because this team is full of skilled fighters, it didn't mean the odds were always with us. After all, we're still Huntsmen-in-training. "Got it?"

They mused for a moment until Ren stepped in. "I concur."

"Wise words, dear leader!" Nora followed.

Pyrrha nodded. "You're doing well, Jaune. Keep it up."

I smiled. I'm happy to know that my teammates trust me so far. But at the same time, I can't help but feel ashamed of persuading them to a strategy that I actually made for my team to emphasize my own safety. The only way to repay them is to make sure they don't get themselves killed while carrying it out.

"I'm glad you could understand. Now, onto exercise!"

We spent almost two exercising and practicing. It was actually a nice experience. Being able to train with your teammates while getting to know them a little better.

After we were finished, Pyrrha and I stood at the center end of the rooftop, admiring the view together. Ren was exhausted, sitting at one of the AC units, and Nora was bouncing around, still full of energy as she usually was.

"Gee, that was fun! I'm very glad to be in the most awesome team in Beacon! Oum be praised!" she raised both of her hands up.

We both confusedly looked at Nora. "I'm sorry, but who's Oum?" I looked at Pyrrha who answered with a shrug before looking back at Nora.

"I… actually don't know. Really, it just suddenly came to my mind. It's weird! It's not like I took any coffee lately, Ren never let me have any coffee." Nora answered, I'd say she's lying but she sounded as genuinely confused as us.

"Well, whoever he is, he sounds like a cool guy." Ren of all people remarked, still sitting down.

We all then put our muddled stares at him, that wasn't something you'd normally hear from him.

"What?" he responded.

Pyrrha and I looked at each other and laughed the whole thing off. We put our gazes at Beacon's scenery during sunset. She suddenly held my shoulder, I turned to look at her emerald eyes and saw the sunset shine on her. I struggled not to blush at the stunning image.

"We won't let you down," she said.

They definitely won't because I have faith in them, something that I could not say the same for myself.

"I know."

I looked back at the sky as the four of us watch it transition from day to night.

A beautiful undefeated champion, a ying of joy and energy, and a yang of logic and tranquility; all being led by a pathetic, lying blond who was unfortunate enough to be stuck here. This is going to be one weird story to tell.

* * *

 **(Response for Guest Reviews)**

 **Guest #2 - Regarding combat match rule#7**

 **Remember that the rule was written for arena matches. Fighting dirty isn't actually discouraged for Huntsmen when fighting the Grimm, but in combat matches where they would duel their fellow Huntsmen, they are prompted to take the match honorably or they will be frowned upon.**


	4. Pathological Jaundice

_Editorial Note:_

 _Due to the lack of relevant events following the last entry, we will be skipping ahead to one month after the last archived chapter—which unfolds a much more notable story._

 _Skipping will be a regular occurrence between some chapters as I cannot include every single journal entry on the archive since many of them provide little-to-no contribution to the overall chronicle that drove Jaune to prominence. However, some of the more interesting rejected entries would still be included in an 'extras' section, which should be released soon._

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **Pathological Jaundice**

* * *

 _"Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo"_

 ** _-A line from an old Imperial Poem_**

It's kinda hard to believe that I actually managed to survive Beacon for a month. I have to admit, I was too pessimistic to think that I wouldn't last a week. Sure, I still need to be wary, but it's nice to know that I could get used to this. My team has been very cooperative; our training sessions have been so far successful, with my teammates complying with the roles they been given with, and have followed my orders without a question, which made the preservation of my own life a lesser concern, making me focus my worries on my other problem—academics.

Despite being a passable leader and strategist, I was never big on theoretical education. I graduated with average scores when I was in elementary, which was good enough since I wasn't the type to brag about stupid letters on a card. I mostly passed since I convinced my sisters, particularly Bleu, to do my homework, and teachers would overlook the fact that an underachiever somehow managed to get perfect scores on his homework. When I started being homeschooled, I would usually pass by derailing classes, taking advantage of loopholes, and testing my sisters' patience by making them want to end the lesson as soon as possible, so I could go back and peacefully spend my time on whatever I please. Here, I can't simply bullcrap my way into passing without getting into trouble, so I have to take my schoolwork seriously.

I spent most of the last night writing a 2000 word essay on what I've learned about Dust Studies the past month which was due today, added with the fact that it has been my weakest subject compared to others, so I had to cram the textbook while writing it down. As a result, I didn't get a lot of sleep, I spent the entirety of Professor Port's class making up for it. Since it was typically his storytime, I doubt that I missed anything that's actually noteworthy. I continued to sleep at Professor—or rather, Doctor Oobleck's class. Initially, I tried to stay awake but I guess two hours sleeping at Port's class wasn't enough so I ended up going back to dreamland for another few minutes.

I was eventually awoken by a paper football crashing at the back of my head.

"Hey!" I cried out, shaking my head from the sensation.

Doctor Oobleck suddenly zooms in front my desk. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

Since I wasn't able to pay attention at that moment, I had to ask about the question if I were to answer. "Uh, what was the question again, sir?" I asked, followed by some students snickering, which I frankly couldn't care less, given how students here are always bored that they'd pretty much laugh at anything.

"Have you not been paying attention again, Mr. Arc? Very well, since you kindly asked: What advantage did the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Oh brother, I recall having this lesson sometime back in elementary and homeschool but tend to forget these as I wanted my mind to have room with things I want to remember. Well, here goes nothing. "Uhh… the answer… the advantage… that the faunus…" I looked at Pyrrha behind the doctor's back for some help. "…had over General... whatever's stuff."

"General Lagune!" he corrected.

"Right, right. General Lagune… is that…" I looked again at Pyrrha, who was cupping her hands around her eyes, making her look like she was making some binoculars with her own hands. I could not make up what she was gesturing to, so I answered with the best of what I could come up.

"Is that they have really big eyes!"

Laughter ensued accompanied with Pyrrha and Blake face-palming. Wonderful, I can see the headlines for the next issue of the school paper: 'Supposed slayer of a bandit lord loses to a history question!'

The doctor sipped his coffee and zooms back to his desk. "So close, yet so far, Mr. Arc. Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin said, insufferably leaning back in his chair. Judging by that statement, Cardin probably never owned a pet.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha responded.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin snapped.

"No, I have the answer." she said before turning back to Doctor Oobleck. "It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured." Blake added. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." she snarled as she turned towards Cardin.

The class was awed at Blake's sass. Cardin loses his cool and stood up before Doctor Oobleck immediately called him out.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat."

I chuckled, I really didn't give a flip about Cardin and his tough guy demeanor, but I enjoy seeing people like him getting what they deserved. Doctor Oobleck then suddenly zoomed at me again. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." he said before taking another sip.

I groaned. I think this is what I get for not taking Bleu's history lessons seriously.

"Now! Moving on!" he continued.

When the bell rang the class ended, everyone left the room for recess, except for me and Cardin of course. Cardin smirked then moved next to my seat and tackled me, hoping he'd get a reaction out of it. I responded by simply moving to the next column while doing my best not to giving he wants.

Before he begins to reprimand us, the doc took a sip of his coffee, as usual. "Mr. Arc, Mr. Winchester. You two have been struggling in my class since day one! Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is..." he took yet another sip of his coffee before putting it down on his desk. "It stops now! You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it." he then looked in front of me. "Especially you, Mr. Arc! You have a family name to live up to. If you intend to uphold its honor, then I suggest you start taking your lessons seriously."

"Heh." Cardin uttered smugly before Doctor Oobleck turned to him.

"Don't think I have forgotten about you, Cardin! Not only your grades have been falling back, you have an attitude problem that needs fixing as well! I do not want you causing any more trouble at my class!" Oobleck told him, causing his smirk to disappear while I boredly watch him.

"I expect both of you to take this as a consideration to start improving your performances for this subject. History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it. Pages 51 to 91! I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now! Run along." he took one last sip before blurring out of the classroom.

That was thankfully quicker than I expected, it would have been annoying if this took long enough for me not to take my lunch.

I walked out of the classroom and saw Pyrrha waiting for me. I suspiciously looked at my back to make sure Cardin doesn't try anything funny, which he did try as he looked like he was about to push me before he froze when I saw him, so instead, he contemptuously sniggered at me and gave me two pats at the back before walking away.

"Is he bothering you?" Pyrrha asked, folding her arms as she glared at Cardin.

"Eh, don't worry about him," I said. "Let's just go eat." We then walked to the cafeteria together. She kept eyeing on Cardin, as she does not trust him one bit. While I cannot really blame her for that, I think she's worrying too much. Sure, Losechester has a track history of being an arrogant jerk, but he really isn't that much of a BMOC **[1]** he thinks of himself as. In fact, he only picks on weaker students, which is very pathetic even for someone like me. This attitude tends to backfire a lot, so I don't need to worry about him as much as he needs to worry about himself.

 **=o=**

1\. _Big Man On Campus. A term used to describe a well-known and influential male student, which Winchester barely qualified as. However, it is often used derisively towards someone deemed conceited, which described him more appropriately._

* * *

During lunch, I ate much more excessively as I wasn't able to eat in the morning since I woke up late and didn't have time to take breakfast and just went to class after a quick shower.

Nora was telling a story about one her of adventures with Ren, although judging by Ren's commentary, she didn't seem to be the most reliable of narrators. **[1]**

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora told.

"It was day." Ren corrected, holding a mug with one of his palms.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!" she stood up, suddenly shouting.

"Two of 'em." Ren exhaled.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" she proudly finished her story as she sat down.

I'm pretty sure those 'Ursa' skins stopped existing long before she claimed to have sold them.

"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren sighed. I got to give it to him. He has been living with Nora for half of his life, while I was still doing my best to get used to her demeanor since day one. Thankfully, I was patient enough not to lose my temper on her and kept her on my good side since her strength and loyalty was essential to my survival.

"Jaune, do you need help with your grades?" Pyrrha asked.

No reason to lie about this, I have been planning to improve my grades, as they have become more of a problem recently. But as much as I want Pyrrha's help, I don't want her to overdo her assistance, otherwise, I'll be owing her a lot after what she'll go through and I don't think I'll be able to recompense her many favors. "Uh, yeah. But don't worry! I'll take care of it myself. It's my responsibility at all."

She hummed. "Well, if you ever need help, you can always come to me."

"Thanks, Pyrrha," I said as I went back into eating.

"Hey Jaune, has Cardin been bothering you a lot lately?" Ruby asked.

"Who?" I asked as if he wasn't a big deal, which he really wasn't.

"Cardin Winchester? The guy who has been picking on you since the first week of school," she answered.

"Oh, him? He just likes to mess around. Nothing special about him at all."

"He's a bully."

Oh please, you're giving him way too much credit. Losechester is nothing more than a minor nuisance at worst; almost everything he did to me is so petty, they could be easily ignored or fixed within the span of four seconds. I refuse to let him have a major impact on one part of my life. The only attention he deserves is the wrath of the Beacon staff.

"He's just an idiot. He'll get either bored or better yet, punished, soon enough." I said before turning around after hearing Cardin laugh. I saw him and his lackeys picking on that rabbit girl, whose name I recalled to be Velvet or something. While to me he comes off your resident tough-guy wannabe, he is really a bully to some. Though, if you ask me, that doesn't make him much more threatening; a simple tattle to Miss Goodwitch would be enough to wipe that dumb look on his face.

"Well, I hope you're right," Ruby said.

"Atrocious, I cannot stand people like him," Pyrrha remarked.

"He's not the only one," Blake said.

"Must be hard being a faunus," Yang commented.

"Well, we can't just sit here and watch!" Nora stood up before looking at me. "We need to do something!"

"Break his legs maybe? Psh. I dunno" I jokingly suggested as I go back to finishing my meal. I was about to tell her I was being sarcastic and that we should report this behavior to the faculty in seriousness when unfortunately...

"You got it, Leader!" she said before she started skipping towards the table where Cardin and Velvet were at.

I almost choked on my nuggets when I realized she took my word seriously and was heading off to carry the deed. Knowing Nora, she was crazy enough to actually do it. "Nora! Wait—No! Stop!" I quickly followed her to Cardin's table.

"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet grunted as Losechester pulled her ears. "Please stop."

"I told you it was real!" Cardin said.

"Man, what a freak!" said Russel, the one with the terrible mohawk.

Cardin was suddenly turned around by Nora before being pulled from his seat and being pushed to the ground.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Cardin angrily questioned.

"I'm here to bring you to your doom!" Nora answered in a sinister voice.

She then started to grab one of his legs as she starts to pull it while pushing his pelvis with her right foot. "Agh!" Cardin grunted in pain. Before it was about to get any worse, I pulled Nora while Cardin's teammates were about to intervene, allowing Velvet to take her chance to run away from there.

"No, Nora, No! We are not breaking anyone's legs! I was only kidding when I said that," I told Nora.

"He deserves it!" she said while trying to get out of my arms.

"Nora. Stop. That's an order." I dissuaded, which made her stop resisting before letting her go.

It didn't stop her from continuing to provoke Cardin and his lackeys. "We're warning you, Cardin. If you don't stop, Jaune is going to kick your butt!"

"Nora…" I irritably sighed.

"Isn't that right, Ren?" she looked at a Ren, who was behind me with Pyrrha and Ruby. The other three girls stood at the other side behind Cardin and his goons in case they get the wrong idea.

"Uh, that's fairly plausible," Ren said.

"Ren!" I yelled. I was trying to get Cardin to ignore me, and he wasn't exactly helping. I looked at Cardin and apologized. "Look, I am so sorry, we'll leave now."

I walked away with my team as Cardin and his team glare at me. I didn't want to make a scene, it will only give Cardin a legitimately good reason to hate me. Not to mention, it'll also get us in trouble for assaulting a fellow student outside of a friendly duel.

"Let's go, guys," I said as I lead my team out of the cafeteria. I groaned knowing that I have enraged Cardin, I don't think they are going to forget this anytime soon, let alone forgive me.

 **=o=**

1. _Reminds of you something, don't you think?_

* * *

To prepare for Dust Studies, I went to my locker to grab my textbook and the essay I spent all night trying to finish. My team and most of the others were already waiting in class so I was the only person on the locker room.

At least that was I thought.

When I was about to close my locker. I felt my hoodie got pulled off before I got pinned to another locker, I opened my eyes and saw Cardin grabbing by the collar of my hoodie along with his little band of juvenile hooligans behind him, one of them, Sky looked really nervous about this.

"You thought you were so funny back there, didn't you, Arc?" Cardin fumed.

Oh dammit, I knew this would happen, just not this early. Losechester can waste his breathe yelling at me for all he wants, I've dealt with worse. "Come on, I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, right, like I would believe that easily." he replied, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

As a matter of fact, he kinda was. Not everyone got to Beacon because they had good grades or were impressive enough, some were able to attend because of their influential connections and just happened to be skilled enough to be accepted. Which explains why there were some mediocre students around here despite claiming that they only accept 'the best of the best'.

Russel then swiped my essay. "Oh, what's this? Your essay for Professor Peach?" he chuckled. "Thanks, Cardin's been nagging me to make one of these for him. Nothing a simple name change and a reprint can't handle."

That is when I started to lose patience, I tolerated them for being petty morons and now they're really asking to get suspended. "Give that back, now!" I demanded as I struggled out from Cardin's grasp.

"Make me." Russel taunted.

"Guys, I think we're going a little too far." the one with the blue hair shuddered.

"Oh shut up, Sky! We need to show this little runt that Cardin Winchester is not to be messed with!" Cardin said.

"But he—"

"I don't care if you buy that stupid story from the news! He is going to pay for getting that crazy witch of his to almost breaking my leg!"

Well, good to know that my one month of fame has expired, at least, probably because Northern Sanus found something else to obsess with. However, I did not appreciate calling Nora a 'crazy witch'. Crazy? Yes. A witch? Wait till she hears about this.

"Let's see how you like it when someone screws you over!" he yelled before shoving me into my locker and closing it.

Dammit, Cardin, how much of a sore loser are you to do this over a dumb mistake. "You're making a mistake, Cardin! Let me out now!" I exclaimed.

"Not in a million years, bunny boy!" Cardin replied. "Now… uh, how do you make lockers launch again?"

"Oh, you need to put in a separate code." Another voice answered, which was from Dove, I think.

"Dammit! And I thought it'll be that simple!" Cardin slammed my locker, which made me shake for a bit. "Alright Jauney-Boy, just tell your locker's launch code and just get this over with."

Seriously, why would I tell you that? Unless I could trick him into not using it, which was a clever idea at the time. "Oh-five-one-four-three-one" I said in a sarcastic tone, little did he know, that was really my launch code. If I learned anything about hiding the truth, if you confessed in a way that makes people think you're not being serious, no one will believe it.

"Nice try, Jauney-boy but I'm not gonna open your locker for you."

His loss. If he is not putting that down, he is not going to see anything blasting off in his little space program.

"Now tell me you're launch codes so we could watch you fly! Or we'll…"

"Or what?" I asked.

"Shut up! We'll…" Cardin paused. "Uh, any idea guys?"

There was no answer. I thought I got him good, that was before I realized I missed an important part that immediately made me regret my decision and for not thinking this through.

He lost patience and smashed the keypad. "Screw this! I think you're better off staying there for a while, its good enough for me!"

I forgot that he can just leave me here trapped. If I knew that earlier, I would have tricked him into opening this locker somehow. The lockers here don't have a latch from the inside in case someone got locked in.

"See you later, loser! Have fun breathing in there and thanks for the essay!" Cardin mocked with laughter from his team followed while his face on the vents disappears.

I then saw Sky on the vents, he quickly looked at the side before whispering "I'm really sorry." he then quickly caught up to his teammates.

To make things worse, the bell rang, indicating that class was starting, making me late for Professor Peach's class without an essay to pass.

I tried slamming the walls of the locker door and calling for help but it was no use, there was nobody in the locker room except me as everyone was now taking their class.

I took out my scroll and attempted to contact someone at my team to come and help me, only to get a screen that says 'Calling and Messaging are disabled during class hours', which made me bang my head at the door. Couldn't they at least add an 'Emergency Call' feature in case of situations like this?! **[1]** I can't launch myself out either because the staff didn't like the idea of student's playing with the rocket-propelled lockers during class except during times where it would be tested or demonstrated.

I sighed and put the scroll back into the pocket and tried to ram the locker doors open which also failed since I heard that these lockers were made to survive long falls. I gave up and just accepted the fact that I was missing Professor Peach's class—in a claustrophobic locker with little ventilation no less.

If I had known this would happen, I would have let Nora break Cardin's legs. I don't care if I get in trouble, it's a lot better than being trapped in here.

 **=o=**

1\. _The feature actually once existed, but it was removed by Ozpin when he discovered that students were abusing it. He thought that nobody needed it anyway, as nobody calls for help, and that as Huntsmen, students are expected to be capable of handling oneself during an unexpected event._

* * *

I spent an entire hour and a half trapped inside a locker when it felt longer than that. To say it was an unpleasant experience was an understatement; there was barely enough room for me to breathe in and I was wearing my armor at the time, which made the whole thing much more uncomfortable. It was also hot in here, I have been sweating since the first ten minutes and now the back of my hoodie is drenched. I found myself almost passing out a couple of times out of suffocation because of how the little air I'm getting.

I ended up taking a nap to hopefully speed things up. I slowly woke up after hearing the bell, which sounded very wonderful at the time. I soon heard some familiar voices calling my name, the voices become much louder and audible, making it clear that they're in the locker room. I used my remaining strength to bang the door, signaling them here.

"Jaune!" I heard Pyrrha's voice as I heard footsteps become increasingly rapid and louder, they stopped after I saw the reassuring faces of my teammates through the vent, albeit barely since the opening allows for a limited view.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked with concern in her voice.

"Two…nine…" I cracked my voice, mouthing off the numbers of my locker's code with every breath I still had.

"Jaune, what are you—?"

"Quiet!" Ren interjected, gesturing for everyone to concentrate on my broken speech.

"…six…three…oh…one."

"Two-nine-six-three-zero-one! Type it in!" Ren directed. Pyrrha nodded and typed the code I gave them.

The locker doors opened, I inhaled deeply as I stepped out before collapsing. They turned me around to face the ceiling. I panted heavily as I gazed at my teammates squatting in front of me while I lie on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"You look a little red!" Nora said.

"Wa...ter…" I faltered.

"He needs water now!" Ren pointed.

"Okie-Doke'!" Nora zoomed away and almost immediately returned with a bottle of water. "Done!"

Pyrrha took the bottle from Nora and opened its cap before feeding it to me. "Here"

I grabbed hold of the bottle and chugged all of its contents within mere seconds. Spending ninety minutes caged in a tight locker can dehydrate you pretty quick. "Thanks," I said as I continued panting. "More please."

"Aye!" Nora saluted zooming out again.

Ren and Pyrrha helped me up, I leaned at the nearest locker as I was having trouble trying to balance myself as I was still suffering from the headache I just got.

"I'll get you a towel," Ren said before bolting out.

"What happened? You were missing last class, we were so worried" Pyrrha questioned. "Let me guess… Cardin."

I nodded as I scowled at the thought of his face.

Pyrrha's hands gripped and her eyes narrowed. "That Winchester… He went too far, you know I will really break his legs."

At that point, I would have allowed her and gladly watch that but digressed because I believe he deserves a more severe punishment.

Nora came back with three water bottles, one of them standing above her head. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks again," I said to Nora before taking the bottles and drank back my strength and lowered my body temperature. Ren also came back gave me a white towel.

"What were you doing there anyway?" Nora asked.

"Cardin." I simply answered while wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Oh, that does it!" Nora said furiously. "Just say the word and I'll break his legs!" she punched one of her palms.

"You'll get your chance, Nora, but right now I need to talk to Professor Goodwitch." I said, as much as I want to confront Cardin and have Nora go berserk on him and his team, I needed to make this whole mess clear to Miss Goodwitch first. I don't care if I get called and labeled a snitch, he just stole an essay I spent all night working on for crying out loud. "Right to combat class, I'll meet you all there."

Ren and Nora nodded before heading out. Pyrrha meanwhile held to my shoulders. "Take care this time."

I nodded at her advice before she followed Ren and Nora.

I went to the hallways and waited for Miss Goodwitch. She then appeared a few minutes later, holding her tablet as usual. I approached her before she managed to get to the combat hall. It took some guts approaching someone like her since she's basically that one dreaded teacher found in the school, but she's mostly doing her job trying to look over a school full of brats with wacky weapons, and if Cardin was afraid of anyone, it's her.

"Professor Goodwitch, can you excuse me for a second?"

"Mr. Arc! Professor Peach recently reported that you were absent from her class. You better explain yourself!" she told me.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I would have attended had not Cardin Winchester and his team trapped me in my own locker. I couldn't call for help because scrolls are disabled during class." I explained.

She sighed. "Mr. Arc, those are some bold claims to accuse your fellow students of such a heinous act, however, I'm willing to believe you because Mr. Winchester has been a nuisance recently."

That's reassuring. All I wanted was to see Cardin pay for making me stay at my locker and stealing my essay.

"But even if they're true. I cannot do anything at the moment, I am occupied into commencing today's class which is vital as it reintroduces the combat matches since last month. Mr. Winchester will be given a trial once this class is complete."

"I understand, professor."

"Which begs the question." she said, adjusting her glasses. "Haven't you been able to defend yourself against Winchester then? This school assumes that you are capable of standing your own ground."

"I was caught off-guard, ma'am. I was unarmed and they had me bound and surrounded. I was not able to fight back." I explained, the whole thing was so sudden that I wasn't able to plan it out properly.

"I guess that's understandable."

"He also stole my essay for Dust Studies and passed it off as his own," I added. I didn't care if it was too late to get those grades as long as Cardin wasn't getting any of them.

"Is that true?"

"He reprinted it with his name, I still have the original document on my computer, which was marked as written on an earlier date."

"I'll look into it then." she sighed. "Say, do you want to face Cardin today in a fair match?"

I raised my brow at the question. "Excuse me, professor?"

"You said you were not given a chance to defend yourself when he tormented you. I thought it'd be fitting when he finds out what he was up against before I give him some proper punishment. That way, he would learn humility while we discipline him."

I thought about it for a bit before deciding to settle with it. I was too infuriated at him that I didn't feel like pretending to be helpless then. I decided to stop holding back and humiliate Losechester just for once. "I'd be delighted to."

"Good. Your match will be the last one before the end of the class. Students like Winchester needs to be reminded that Beacon is no place for bullies. I'm glad Caiaphas's son would do the honors."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"And don't think I have forgotten about your grades, young man. Your theoretical performances are still mediocre at best." she bluntly prompted.

Since I expected her too eventually that bring up, I wasn't fazed by her reminder. "Of course, ma'am." I nodded.

"Now, proceed to class. I will follow shortly."

It went easier than anticipated. I thought that it would take more persuading for Miss Goodwitch to take action, but it turned out, it seems that we have a mutual infuriation towards Losechester's antics.

I ran to the combat hall and went inside and saw Nora and Losechester trying to strike at each other while Ren does his best to restrain them both with Pyrrha and Cardin's goons standing behind their respective teammates. Some people who were watching seemed eager for a fight while others looked concerned.

"You're freaking insane, do you know that?!" Cardin shouted.

"Better than being a no-good bully!" Nora retorted.

"Both of you, Get. A. Grip!" Ren said, doing his best pushing back both parties from each other.

"I agree. As much as I want to see this vermin get what he deserves. We mustn't get in trouble. We should save it for a match." Pyrrha stated before turning her gaze at me.

They all suddenly stopped after they saw me approaching them.

"Ah, look who it is," Cardin said as he slowly walks toward me. "So how's your stay at—", he was interrupted by Pyrrha who stood on his way as she scowls at him.

"What's a matter? Need your girlfriend to fight your own battles for you?" Cardin taunted.

I tried to respond but Pyrrha beat me to it. "You have gotten one step too far with him, Winchester."

"You didn't like how I repaid Jauney-boy for almost breaking my legs? Don't worry there is more where that came from." Cardin scoffed.

Can't wait. Hopefully, you won't get suspended or even expelled so I can see how you pull it off, I sardonically thought.

"If you know what's good for you, you better start leaving us alone!" Pyrrha responded.

The doors of the entrance opened as Miss Goodwitch enters the room and saw all of us standing. "All of you, please be seated." she ordered.

"But Prof—", Nora tried to explain before Miss Goodwitch raised her hand.

"No excuses. If you're holding a grudge you can save it for the matches."

Nora groaned but knew she couldn't do anything at the moment and obeyed her word. Ren sat down with her and patted her back.

"Hmph. I think you'll learn not to mess with me better in a match." he smirked.

To give an impression of someone nervous, I responded with a gulp. Not that I'm actually scared of Losechester, I wanted him to underestimate me, so he could act as smug as possible before wiping the floor with it.

"Watch yourself, Jauney-boy." he walks away with his peers, with Sky nervously looking back.

Pyrrha continues to scowl at him, but I told her to calm down and walked her to our seats beside Ren and Nora.

"How degenerate." Pyrrha crossed her arms, still angry over Cardin.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha! Justice will soon be brought to Cardin and our team's dignity will never falter!" Nora said. "Jaune, just say the word and I will break his legs!"

As much as I want to see Losechester in a wheelchair. I'm still going to my plan to get back to him through legal means. "Actually, you don't need to do anything. I have it all figured it out." I turned at my teammates and give them a smirk.

Nora was confused before her face shifted into an evil grin. "Ohh, I like where this is going. The suspense is killing me!" she said, rubbed both of her hands.

"You won't be disappointed." I nodded.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Just wait and see."

We all directed our attention to Miss Goodwitch, who was now in the arena. "Good afternoon, students. I'm sure you're all excited to know that today we are resuming combat matches for this class."

"Woo!" Nora cheered along some other students thirsting for some action.

"But first, since we have plenty of time. You still have to do some warm-up exercises first as usual and spend half of another hour reviewing on what you've learned for the past month."

The same people who cheered, including Nora, groaned. Nevertheless, they were still excited that combat matches are back.

"You already know the drill, so it is best for you to be on with it if you wanted the matches to start sooner."

We all lined up outside the classroom to start our daily warm-ups for combat class. Cardin looked back and sneered at me, I coldly looked back as I plan on how to beat him in the match. I had most of everyone's combat styles and moves noted, Cardin is no exception. People like Cardin tend to act smug to anyone who he thinks is below him, which would surely cause him not to fight seriously. If I take that to my advantage, then the fight is already been won.

* * *

Combat class is a favorite among Huntsmen-in-training, and for good reason; it is practical, entertaining and educational that it's no mystery why it's two times longer than other classes. Even I find myself attached to the subject since it gives me insight into my classmate's fighting ability as I take note of them as it may be proved beneficial for the future. Today, my knowledge of other students would be put to the test, particularly Cardin's. When I was observing him during this class for the past month, I learned that he uses a large mace that apparently could release explosions on impact, which tells me that I have to be careful when blocking it with my shield. Thankfully, Mom's shield is known to be almost indestructible, I saw her demonstrate it against missiles and lasers and it still remained intact. Plus, his mace is shown to be heavy, added with his armor that weighs him, which would make him durable, with the cost of his mobility. In short, I actually didn't need to worry about much. Since I was able to win against dad, my sisters and a bandit lord, then this would be child's play by comparison.

The last hour of combat training was spent on matches, which were exciting to the bloodthirsty students since that they were finally able to fight and be graded in the process. So far, the fights have been one versus one, probably because Miss Goodwitch wants to go easy with the fights for today and wants to see what the students learned when fighting alone. I noticed Team CRDL trying to get themselves volunteered which Miss Goodwitch did her best to ignore them since she's saving Cardin to face me for the last match before the class ends.

"Maus Itter's aura is in the red. Piper Rivers has been declared winner." Miss Goodwitch announced after the lights went back on.

The two participants return back to their sit before Miss Goodwitch steps back in the arena. "We still have time for one more match before we could conclude this class."

I took a deep breath as I prepared for my name and Cardin to be called.

"Jaune Arc of Team JNPR. Cardin Winchester of Team CRDL, please enter the arena."

As I was about to stand up, Pyrrha held my shoulder, turning my gaze at her emerald eyes. "Be careful, Jaune."

"Yeah, kick his butt, Fearless Leader!" Nora said.

"Will do." I nodded.

I walked toward the arena, unsheathing my sword and collapsing my shield. While feigning anxiety to give Cardin a false impression of an inadequate joke who don't even deserved to be fought with all his capabilities, looking at his stupid overconfident smile as I faced him on the arena.

I know that this going to get the professors attention, but they already know who I am and what my team was capable of, and I'm sure Ozpin has been making plans for me the moment he formed my team. So there wasn't anything to worry about that I already have; if they see me as an accomplished warrior and expected me to act like one, then so be it. I just wanted Cardin off my back.

"Hey, Jauney-boy. Do me a favor and don't forfeit early." Cardin scoffed, putting his mace at his shoulder.

"I don't plan to, Cardin. Just please take it easy." I said, still pretending to be nervous.

"Heh. Maybe. But only because you're so pitiful, I'll be only gentle for a bit, don't you worry."

Looks like I got him where I want. Next thing to do is make this moment something he won't forget.

I gave a nervous chuckle to delude Cardin for the last time. The lights outside the arena turn off, holographic screens showing both of our aura gauges emerged. I gave a faint smirk, knowing how this would go.

"Ready? Begin!" Miss Goodwitch commenced.

I held my sword tight and remained calm as Cardin horizontally swung his mace aiming toward my face which I dodged right in time then used my shield to uppercut his face, pushing him back. He shook his head, not knowing what just happened. The next thing he saw after clearing his vision was me stepping forward before giving him a series of rapid slashes which he was too stunned to counter, quickly draining his aura. He stumbled back before getting angry and charged, trying to slam me with his mace, which I dodged by simply sidestepping, barely affected the mini-explosion he caused. Once he turned to me, I bashed his face with my shield, knocking him to the ground.

He opened his eyes and looked at his screen, he was shocked to see that his aura levels were already at the red and mine still full, it was already over.

"WHAT THE FU—!"

The buzzer rang and the lights turned back on before anyone knew it. I heard the audience murmuring shock, amazement, and confusion. I guess the so-called Defender of Podunk was back with vengeance, though, I have pretty much gotten to the point where it barely bothers me. As shameful and undeserving it is, being on a pedestal does have some of its perks.

Honestly, I was pretty scared that it wouldn't work out as planned, but it turned out to be comically easy since Dad and my sisters offered more challenge when sparring with them. Hearing Cardin scream in agony was pretty satisfying too.

"Jaune Arc wins the match… by flawless victory within thirteen seconds… A new record among freshmen." Miss Goodwitch stated, who sounded just as surprised as everyone else.

There was an awkward silence in the audience until clapping was heard from Nora. "That's our Fearless Leader!" she cheered. The rest of my team joined in followed by Team RWBY then the rest of the class. Some shouts and whistles were heard during the applause.

Cardin gripped his hands and tried to get up, needless to say, he wasn't pleased getting beaten by someone who he taught was someone who was lower than dirt in thirteen seconds. "What?! No!"

"Class." Miss Goodwitch said, which silenced the audience. "Cardin, were you aware on who you just faced with?"

"Does it really matter?" he responded bitterly, whose body was faltering after recently getting beat up.

"He is the son of Caiaphas Arc! One of the most exceptionally skilled individuals I know. Being trained under him, you were outmatched the moment you faced him, added that you let your guard down hence why he was able to defeat you within seconds. Did the introductory match with Miss Hisakawa taught you nothing?"

Cardin stares at her, faintly grunting.

"Mr. Winchester, while you have proven yourself to have fighting skill sufficient enough for accepted within this academy. You need to humble yourself. Arrogance is one of the leading causes of death of in the field, along with incompetence."

Cardin just distraughtly looked at the ground. Miss Goodwitch then turned her gaze toward me. "Mr. Arc, due to your background, I anticipated that you'll be able to handle this skillfully, but even then you have still managed to catch my surprise."

"Oh, it was nothing. I only followed what I learned from my father." I said as modestly as I could.

"Is that so?" she mused. "I guess one opponent must have been too easy for you. Since we still have time, you could show the class how one extraordinarily skilled warrior could handle several opponents."

Wait, what?

She turned to the audience. "Since the match ended rather too quickly. We will have another match. Only this time, Jaune will face the rest of Cardin's team, since the last match was proven to be too trivial for him and his aura levels are still full.

The class cheered with anticipation. Meanwhile, my jaw dropped as my mind went into a panic. I did not expect to face everyone else on Cardin's band of delinquency after humiliating him. Apparently, I was too good and beating Cardin that quickly proved that it was not enough for her. I really wasn't sure if I could handle Cardin's teammates ganging up on me. I did my best to remain calm, I didn't want Team CRDL to notice my insecurities and get them to exploit it.

"Would the rest of Team CRDL kindly enter the arena?"

Russel and Dove stood up and dragged Sky into following since he was too hesitant to go.

"Mr. Winchester. Please go back to your seat and rest. Your team will take care of this."

He angrily hobbled out of the arena. "You won this one, Arc." Cardin spat when he passed through me. He then approached his teammates who just came out of the entrance. "Crush him."

His team minus Sky nodded. They all pulled out their respective weapons; Russel with his dual daggers with dust chambers, à la Weiss' rapier. Dove with his sword-revolver, which is actually a decent weapon if you ask me. And finally Sky's weapon, which a halberd-rifle like Bleu's weapon, which meant I already know how to counter it, especially considering that Sky is less-skilled and far more anxious than Bleu, who was already a full-fledged Huntress when she challenged me. Russel and Dove both have faces with vengeance written all over them, Sky, of course, was meanwhile whimpering.

"You just wasted your luck on the last match, bunny jacket. Big mistake thinking you can get back on us." Russel said.

"Yeah, you should know your place, nerd!" Dove dissed.

Nerd? You can't be serious right now. I feel less pathetic after hearing that. Say what you want about me, but at least I don't use insults that sound like they came from crappy high school dramas that were written by out-of-touch 40-something adults.

"Hey, uh, just so you know, this isn't anything personal." Sky said to me.

"What was that, Sky?" Russel turned to him.

"Uh, nothing." he lied.

Just as I thought I was done with birds. I went back into my battle stance and told myself to remember my training. Being somewhat familiar with these idiots and without Cardin's leadership, they'll all be focused on trying to put me down without regards to tactics. **[1]**

"You can do it, Jaune!" Pyrrha motivated.

"Yeah, show them who's boss!" Nora stood raising her fist.

"We believe in you!" Ruby cheered.

All the lights on the room, barring the one on the arena, of course, all turned off while Cardin's aura screen changed to show all of his teammate's aura gauges as well another gauge that represents the team's overall aura. Miss Goodwitch then started giving out the instructions.

"This will be a three versus one battle. You will be given five minutes for this match. When the timer runs out, whichever team that has the most aura combined wins assuming an entire team hasn't been knocked out by then. Have I made myself clear?"

All of us nodded.

"Good. You may begin when ready."

We continued staring at each other for a few more seconds when all of a sudden, Russel fired a round of fire dust which I blocked just right in time. Lowering my shield, I saw him running towards me before leaping, ready to thrust both of his daggers in a reverse grip. I raised my shield again and blocked his strike before using it to push him back, I went on to parry all of his attacks with my sword before looking at my right and saw Dove approaching me as he was about to swing down his sword. I deflected him mid-swing with my own sword and parried his following attacks while fending off Russel with my shield.

Dove suddenly rushes back and switched his weapon to a gun mode, I quickly bashed Russel's face with my shield before turning my shield towards Dove and block his gunshots. I then sensed something coming towards my legs so I leaped up and looked down and saw a halberd horizontally sweep near the ground. I turned my head back and saw Sky giving a nervous chuckle. I chose to ignore him for the moment since he was already shaken and that his buddies were still actively trying to pin me down. A bullet ran near my face, making me look back at Dove who quickly starts reloading since his chamber ran out. I used this opportunity to focus on Russel who attempted to flank me from the other side. I blocked his flurry of slashes with my sword before clashing with him as I continue to block Dove's gunshots at the back until he switched back to his sword and tried to strike, I quickly turned around while swinging my shield at Russel's face as I parried Dove's attack. I suddenly heard a gunshot and quickly turned towards Sky with the shield covering me. I then bashed the shield on Dove, trembling him back and making him open to attack.

After giving him a few slashes, I quickly dodged back from a thrust from Sky's halberd before clashing blades with Russel at the back. He flipped back and started firing electric dust which made me dart around the room before I got close him, causing him to stop and jumped to the side before lunging at me while rolling in mid-air.

Show-off, I thought. I caught him with my shield and shoved him to my back, making him fall to the ground before I sliced his aura to the red while he was lying.

"Russel Thrush is out for the match!" Miss Goodwitch announced.

"Dammit!" Russel cursed as he slammed the floor.

One down, two to go. I looked at Dove and Sky, who was furious and frightened respectively. I bolted toward them while they tried to shoot me down with their guns. I engaged Sky who went to block my slash with his polearm, before turning my attention to Dove, using my shield to bash away his defense then turning back, shoving away the tip of Sky's weapon before it fired and pushed him back. I went back to Dove and swung my sword, causing him to block and parry before sweeping his legs under him, collapsing him to the ground. I gave him one last swing of my sword as his aura lowers to the red.

"Dove Bronzewing is out! Only Sky Lark remains on Team 2!" Miss Goodwitch announced. The screen showing Team _RDL's aura has Russel and Dove both crossed out with Sky being only one left. The team's overall aura is at the orange, with only 1/3 of it remaining.

I turned my gaze towards Sky, who was shuddering like there was no tomorrow. Since he was the least worse among the team in terms of personality and the only one there who thought this entire thing is a farce, I'll go easy on him. I stormed towards him and proceeded to overwhelm him with a flurry of slashes. He wasn't able to attack since he was too occupied trying to block everything I throw at him. Eventually, he had enough and threw the towel while his aura was still light-green.

"This is hopeless!" he yelled. "I forfeit!"

The buzzer rang and lights turned back on as Miss Goodwitch walked back to the arena "Jaune Arc has once again, won the match."

The room was bombarded with applause, I looked at my team and saw Pyrrha standing up and clapping as hard as she could while Nora jumped while raising her fist to the air then giving Ren a hug who was noticeably smiling. The only person who wasn't who wasn't cheering was obviously Cardin, who was sitting with his arms folded, glowering at his team's defeat.

"Good work. Mr. Arc. As expected from your family. You truly are an exceptional fighter." Miss Goodwitch commended.

Taking on Cardin's entire team wasn't the plan at all. I chose to follow my training instincts and win because I had to meet their expectations and Cardin would continue harassing me with more ammunition if I lost. Cardin's team mostly lost because they were over their heads. Had they been someone else and more serious, I'd probably be dead by now.

"Mr. Lark. While you chose to make a decision that is normally frowned upon, I cannot blame you for it. I am somewhat pleased to know that you're aware that you have little chance of winning and accepted defeat." she then looked at Russel and Dove, who both were standing in the sidelines, flustered and shaken by their defeat. "As for the rest of you. You need to plan your attacks if you are to face someone who is levels above you. Just because an opponent is outnumbered, it doesn't instantly mean you have the upper hand. A skilled individual can make a quantity of a group meaningless."

"Can we go back to our seats now?" Russel whined.

"Not yet. You still have something to answer for. That goes the same for you, Mr. Arc." Miss Goodwitch responded.

Oh boy, here it comes.

She turned back to the audience. "That is all for the day. Remember, everyone—the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" she announced, exciting the students; most notably, Team RWBY, who were all pumped up after the mention of the tournament. Blake meanwhile, looked just as disinterested as ever.

The bell rang, ending all of the classes for today. Everyone left the combat hall so they could spend the rest of the day for themselves. Of course, me and Team CRDL stayed after class because of some unfinished business. The juvenile delinquents were lined up facing Miss Goodwitch's unimpressed face as I stood beside her.

"Cardin Winchester. While you and your friends of yours have been causing ruckus since the first day. I cannot be more disgusted with your behaviors of what you did to Mr. Arc a few hours ago." Miss Goodwitch scolded.

"But, ma'am. Even if that's true, then shouldn't Jaune be able to fend for himself. After all, he is an exceptional fighter, was he?"

Miss Goodwitch's eyes further narrowed. "Mr. Winchester, answer me this honestly: Do you think I'm stupid?"

Cardin flinched as he lost his grin and started to whimper that he couldn't answer. Miss Goodwitch continue to berate him. "Mr. Arc has already proven to be superior against you and your team. I'm sure Mr. Arc would have taken care of you. But he has the excuse of not being able to fight as he was unarmed and ambushed. Now normally, I would stay out of student's personal affairs as they are expected to deal with them themselves, but after hearing that you stole a student's essay and passing it as your own has caught my ire. Is that true?"

The quartet continued to shudder and sweat profoundly at the stern witch. "Don't lie. I will eventually find out." she intimidated. They looked at each other before giving in, making Cardin and Russel give a dim nod. "As I have suspected. Are you all trying to get expelled?! I cannot be more disappointed in you four right now. You will all stay at detention for the day. As for Mr. Winchester, you would be staying in detention for a week, I will also make sure that the essay you submitted to Professor Peach would not be graded, as they rightfully belonged to Mr. Arc."

Cardin was furious, but knew he could do nothing, so all he did was look down with the rest of his team.

"Now, I want you all to apologize to Mr. Arc here." she slightly pushed me on the back.

Cardin rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sorry, Jauney-boy." he said, disingenuously, of course…

"Politely…" Miss Goodwitch urged.

He groaned before apologizing again. "Alright, Alright! I'm sorry for being such a jerk, Jaune!"

"Yeah, sorry." Russel followed.

"I regret this…" Dove said.

"No hard feelings, right?" Sky weakly grinned.

"Good." she turned to me. "Mr. Arc, you may go now. You four stay. I am still not done with you."

I nodded before walking to the exit. I looked at them out of pity and saw Cardin's gaze still distraught at me. I shrugged it off and left the room. He had a lot to think about, so I'll let him take the hint. I had enough of them for the day and I wanted to refresh my mind after everything that happened these past hours.

After walking out the exit of the combat hall, I was greeted by the sight of my team and Team RWBY. All, where still congratulating me on my recent win.

"Here he is, the bane of CRDL!" Nora bounced.

Pyrrha went at my side with a satisfied look. "You did great, Jaune. I'm so proud of you."

"Looks like Cardin won't bother you for a while," Ren commented.

"Yeah! You showed those mean ole' bullies who they were messing with!" Nora cheered.

"You were amazing! You beat all of them with barely a scratch! Oh, you have got to teach me some time!" Ruby squealed.

"Looks like Vomit-Boy has promoted himself to Vomit-Man!" Yang quipped.

I could only smile at the praise my friends were giving me. "Thanks, guys, really. But I only did what I should be doing. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, after all."

"Oh, don't put yourself down, lady-killer. You beheaded a giant bird and put some birds to their place. I'd say your just good at what you do." Yang tapped the back of my armor. "I guess Cardin was a little _jaundiced,_ eh?"

There was not a single laugh or groan but instead silent stares of confusion.

"Oh for fu—fudge's sake!" she swore. "I know some of you eggheads got that! Is it that right, Weiss-cream?"

"Do you seriously study the dictionary to make your puns?" Weiss responded.

"Hey, at least I try!"

I chuckled for a bit before getting my team to accompany me out. I needed a break after beating a bunch of bullies and I still have another essay to write, which I want to finish soon so I don't end up sleeping tomorrow, and not because of some mustached professor's tall tales.

 **=o=**

1\. _Knowing Winchester's tactical knowledge. I doubt it would make much of a difference._

* * *

After that eventful day, Cardin and his team were noticeably quiet, not starting any trouble like they would normally do. Velvet was even surprised that he and his team just walked past her without a word or anything since she was a usual victim of his tormenting. I guess they learned their lesson yesterday and was hit hard by Miss Goodwitch's disciplinary action. Which is a relief, because it means I don't have to keep my head up for any more incoming spitballs. That immature crap was one of the few things that actually nag me about Cardin.

During Dust Studies, Professor Peach pardoned me for being absent from her class yesterday after she was informed of what happened. She had my essay graded for myself instead of Cardin. Though, she reminded me that I still have a lot to make up for, since my performance in Dust Studies wasn't exactly the best.

Before her class ended, she announced that the class will have a field trip to Forever Falls on the following day starting after recess and ends at dismissal, which meant there won't be combat class for the day, but Miss Goodwitch agreed to chaperone us during the trip.

I spent my time after class catching up with my studies, which also meant that team training had to be postponed. Nevertheless, my team decided to help me, even though they don't have to since they owe me nothing. It's probably because I acted too much of a good leader to them that they're always here to help. While I'm grateful for that, I'm worried that we'll never be even, they'll spend these years saving my rear and I find myself guilty that I may never properly repay them, hence I never felt comfortable getting help from people who were supposed to be my glorified meatshields.

When the field trip began. We traveled to Forever Fall via airship, which was a sight that I did not miss after remembering my past travel with it. Although the trip was short, lasting around only ten minutes or so, I was doing my best not to repeat the incident that happened on the first day; Ruby and Yang noticeably even stayed a few feet away from me during the duration of the flight. When we arrived, I left the airship with some minor headache, but at least I didn't throw up for once.

"Here we are students, Forever Fall! Now I want all of you to follow me and stay with your team, I don't want any of you wandering off." Miss Goodwitch said.

Forever Fall. While it's somewhat of an odd forest, having red grass and leaves instead of green, there was barely anything out of the ordinary at all. Aside from a few Grimm since it's the wilderness.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Miss Goodwitch stated while we were following her on the forest before halting after she turned back.

Cardin bumps on me while carrying a case with empty jars on it. He gave me a scowl before moving along.

"Be careful, Cardin. Those are fragile." Miss Goodwitch warned before turning back to the whole class. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap." she pulled out a jar filled with red fluids. "However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm—so be sure to stay by your teammates."

Of course, it wouldn't be a forest without the Grimm lurking around and ruining nature. I checked my belt to make sure I still have my sword and scabbard. Can't afford to let your guard down these days.

"We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

While the class split into their teams, meanwhile, I had mine accompany Team RWBY just to be safe and told them that it was more the merrier. They didn't seem to mind since we were close since the first week, not to mention Ruby wanted her team to get to know us better.

For whatever reason, I don't feel comfortable collecting sap—I suspect that I might be allergic to this stuff. When I filled my first jar, I already wanted to give up. This stuff could potentially kill me. I cannot imagine anyone drinking this.

I looked at my surroundings and saw the other fill their first jar. Ren went to fill another jar after giving one to Nora, who chugged all of it even before Ren could add a drop with the other jar.

Of course, I thought with slight repulsion.

I looked back into my jar and found out that it was suddenly opened and empty. I shook my head to assure that my vision was not playing with my head and looked closer and saw that it really was empty. I looked at my side and saw Nora with her mouth covered in sap.

"Mmm."

"Nora!" I yelled.

"Oops, sorry!" she giggled before dashing away.

I was initially annoyed but chose to laugh it off. It was the same classic Nora I endured for the past month. At least I don't have to deal with six more of them, well, Ruby might count since she is basically 'Nora: Lite', but she's not in my team and her enthusiasm is more uplifting than annoying. **[1]**

"Need help?" Pyrrha asked as she approached me.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," I said as I tried to collect more sap and suddenly feeling dizzy again. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff though."

"Huh. Looks like you do need help." Pyrrha remarked. "Well, Nora drank all of my sap too. So how about you let me—."

"No no no, it's alright. We just need one sap. I'm sure it wouldn't kill me to fill another one up." I insisted.

"Oh. Okay. If you say so then." she looked down.

I think I made her believe that she was bothering me with her desire to help me out. So, I gave her an assurance that I'm still glad to have her my side. "Hey, Pyrrha."

"Yes, Jaune?"

"I want to thank you for supporting me for after all these days. I really appreciate it. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

Her face brightened after that. "It was my pleasure, Jaune. But you shouldn't push yourself too hard as well. It's just that—you have been having trouble these past couple days and you have been refusing help from us. I'm worried."

"Hey, I'm an Arc. I can solve my own problems. You don't need to worry much about me."

She chuckled. "Well, I hope your right, Mister Arc."

I smirked at her response. "No need for formalities, Miss Nikos. After all, I—." I was interrupted when I felt something sting at my back. I touched it to see what it was and saw red fluids on my fingers.

I turned around and saw shattered glass on the ground. I looked up and saw Team CRDL pointing and laughing at me.

Did detention teach these morons nothing? They have the audacity to throw a sap on me while their leader was recently humiliated and was serving detention. What made them think it was a good idea to exact revenge just now?

"Oh, that does it." Pyrrha started marching toward them.

"Pyrrha, wait!" I called. She turned back with a perplexed expression. "I'm coming with you."

She smirked and we headed out to get Cardin together. They suddenly started to look frightened and hurriedly tried throw a jar of sap on her, only for her to effortlessly dodge it. They begin to panic as they started opening a box and released a swarm of rapier-wasps right after me.

I was startled by the swarm. I heard that these things are attracted to sweets and the sap was no exception. I turned back to make a run for it. I went outside the class parameter, trying to shake off and chased by the rapier-wasps around the forest for a while until I suddenly ended up running to an Ursa Major.

Wonderful. It's going to be Podunk all over again!

I ran back to the group in hopes that they'll be able to get rid of it. The rapier-wasps on the other hand, I cannot reach my own back to wipe it off and I didn't want to take off my armor yet especially with the Ursa behind my rear.

"Ursa!" I screamed after I saw Pyrrha grabbing Cardin by the collar. Pyrrha turned her head and dropped Cardin, then pulled out her shield and xiphos and charged towards the Ursa, beginning with a shield bash to its forehead followed by thrusting her blade at it.

Team CRDL ran off, Pyrrha was holding off the Ursa, and the rapier wasps were still after me. I kept running aimlessly trying to think of a way to shake them off. The only plan I had was the good old 'run and live'.

I ran as fast and hard as I could, not looking back nor caring about where was I going, shaking off the swarm was the only thing I had in mind. As a result, I wasn't aware that I went a little too deep into the forest that I found two armed men wearing white vests and black hoods entering a cave. Without thinking if they were friendly or not, I went ahead and ran past them

"Hey, what the hell?" One of them said before they saw the rapier-wasps coming after them.

I went inside the cave. I looked back and see the two men getting swarmed, both of them struggling to get the wasps off. I watched with horror while I slowly walked back then turned around and was greeted with more armed men with the same outfits, pointing their guns at me. I saw that they were all wearing visors similar to Grimm masks, a sign that says that these people aren't exactly affable.

Bandits. **[2]** Great. Just great.

Knowing, that these people are a bunch of criminals who could kill me in a heartbeat and aren't exactly big on fighting fair and honorably. The safest course of action was put to your hands up and hope for the best. I had my tracker on and I doubt that a bunch of bandits could handle some Huntsmen, well, one Huntress and a number of Huntsmen-in-training, really crazy Huntsmen-in-training.

I would have let myself get stung several times if I saw this coming, though.

Happy now, Losechester?

 **=o=**

1\. _As her former partner, I can confirm that they're both true._

2\. _Jaune was not aware that he actually encountered The White Fang, which was much worse than bandits. Then again, he denied that he confronted something as bad as an outpost of a notorious international terrorist group._

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _While Jaune was busy wandering off being chased by the rapier wasps before being captured by a White Fang subdivision. Ruby recorded the situation back at the class assignment when we were alerted by the presence of the Ursa Major on her personal memoirs, unknowingly filling the gaps caused by Jaune's typically self-centered writing._

The Red Rose Diaries: Trouble at Forever Falls

Things got weird on the field trip real fast. One second we were gathering sap as instructed by Miss Goodwitch, and then the next second, we saw Jaune getting chased by a bunch of flies, which Cardin might have to do something with, seeing how Pyrrha was really mad at him. It wasn't really that bad until Jaune came back with an Ursa Major chasing him. Pyrrha was trying to stop it. I got Team RWBY to go help her out. Ren and Nora weren't able to help because Nora passed out after drinking too much sap and Ren had to look after her.

I ordered Blake and Yang to bait the Ursa into slamming trees, causing it to get stunned, giving me, Weiss and Pyrrha the opportunity to absorb its damage safely. We repeated it a few times until we finished it off with a team attack to finally kill it. Blake gave a few slashes, then Yang punched it a few times before throwing it off the air when it would be trapped by Weiss' glyphs and I used my semblance to get close to it and sliced it down with the Crescent Rose. The Ursa fell as it started to evaporate. Miss Goodwitch came in and demanded what was going on. Pyrrha told her that Cardin and his team threw a jar of sap at Jaune and had rapier-wasps chase him, which made us wonder—where was Jaune?

Pyrrha pulled out her scroll to find where he was, she found her location and got Ren and Nora (who just woke up and was recovering) to follow her. We were ordered to stay and guard the area in case more Grimm come.

* * *

The bandits violently tied and dragged me to their camp inside the cave. The camp was pretty impressive and organized for a bunch of bandits, they even had banners of their emblem hanging around. Everyone there kept giving me dirty looks, with one of them even spitting on me. Looks like this bandit camp doesn't really like me, I know they're a menace to society, but they don't have a real reason to spite me. One could guess that these were El Segador's ex-goons if that's true, then I'm really screwed.

They took me to a cage and pushed me inside. Before they could leave two of them entered the cage, one of them untying me, and the other pointing his gun on me to make sure I wasn't trying anything they don't want me to do.

"Your belongings—weapons, money, scrolls, surrender them to me." the one with the gun said after his buddy was untying me.

I have no choice but to comply. I gave them my stuff, they let me keep my armor as they didn't need it anyway, they sent my belongings to another room. The scroll was password protected, so I don't have to worry about them opening it and disabling the team tracker, even if they did manage to open it, they wouldn't know how to navigate on applications exclusive to Beacon students.

"So…" the same guy who was pointing his weapon at me said after leaving the cage and locking it. "Are you alone or are you with someone else?"

Normally, I'll tell the truth out of fear, but being the seasoned liar I am, I knew it would be better for me not to tell them the truth. It's only a matter of time until my team finds me, who just happens to be crazy enough to handle a bunch of bandits especially since Ren and Nora have experience fighting them and Pyrrha has fought worse. I just need to make them keep their guard down so that this would be over with quick.

"No, you gotta believe me! I'm just a lone traveler. I happen to end up getting swarmed by a bunch of rapier-wasps and happen to stumble upon you guys!"

"So you had nothing to do with the Huntsmen brats we found wandering around?" he inquired.

"Wait, there are Huntsmen here?" I asked to uphold my facade.

He paused for a moment before looking at me closer. I was worried that he'd recognize me from something. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

"Well, you don't look like a Huntsman." the bandit mentioned after he examined my clothes, which were just ordinary clothes with armor you can buy at your nearest blacksmith, making me pass as a civilian who just happened to be armed for the worse. "Don't get your hopes up, human. As long as this place remains hidden—no one will come for you. Hell, this probably might the last place you'll be in." he said before living with a laugh.

I gulped at the statement, but I also raised my brow when he called me 'human'. Is this one of those human-hating faunus? If so, then wonderful.

I sat down waiting for help to come. I really need to start thinking straight while trying to flee from danger. I keep getting into these situations because of stupidity and I'll be damned if I let it repeat again.

I examined the camp, looking for possible escape routes, as well as making some sort of plan B in case no one comes. I saw the bandit who was guarding have a key on the back of his belt, while tempting, it was best for me if I waited for the right time; my hands aren't really soft enough to steal it without getting caught. I looked at all the other bandits and studied their equipment, most of them were using projectile-based firearms of some kind, and others were seen carrying energy weapons. I overheard something about a kidnapping, I think, I tried to continue eavesdropping and went closer to the cell to which the guard just angrily whipped his weapon at the bars.

"Don't get any bright ideas."

I flinched back and continued to sit at my cell for almost a half an hour, thinking of what to do and praying for the best.

Eventually, I heard sounds of bandits running to the exit followed by an explosion coming from the outside, then heard a familiar yell from a certain Valkyrie.

"Ravioli, Ravioli, where did you keep our beloved Jauney?!"

The bandit guarding the cage was startled and raised his gun and was about to walk away. Before I could let any of that happen. I quickly looked around to see if the coast was clear, I saw that everyone had left the area to deal with the intruders. I grabbed the bandit's mouth through the bars and head his head at the cage until he is knocked out cold.

I grabbed the key from his belt and used it to open the lock when I got out of the cage, I took his submachine gun and looted his body for lien, ammo, dust and any valuables for good measure. **[1]**

I went toward the room where my stuff was hidden. The room was an office with several lockers, file cabinets, and chests, as well as a flag with the bandit clan's emblem hanging in the wall and a single fan on the corner of the ceiling. I looked at every locker and chest to find my stuff until I eventually found them and continued to scavenge for supplies.

"Hey!" A voice called while I was looting one of the chests.

I quickly turned around and saw him reaching for his pistol. I threw the submachine gun at him, knocking him over as I grabbed my sword by its scabbard before storming towards him and then swung the pommel to his head, rendering him unconscious. I put my sword back at my belt and searched his body and took all of his money and ammunition.

The best thing that I took from him, however, was his pistol; it wasn't just a pistol—it was a laser pistol. While it doesn't look like much, laser weaponry is feared for a good reason. They're much more accurate and powerful than projectile weapons as they can deplete aura within a few shots while projectile weapons require an entire clip or two to accomplish that, depending on the ammo or gun type. They also lack recoil and hold much more ammo than projectile weapons, meaning I don't have to worry about reloading every now and then, I just needed to make sure it doesn't overheat after firing it too many times. I also have to be careful with its power cells—I've been hearing reports on how the overcharging of lasers cause them to explode, those are one of the few downsides of laser weapons. But despite its few flaws, overall, these types of weapons are effective enough that they are often degraded as 'coward guns' but only because they are afraid of people wise enough to use them, and besides, that only made the weapon more suiting for me. Makes me wonder why Huntsmen don't use more guns like this.

I left the room with my sword unsheathed on my right hand, and the laser pistol on the other. **[2]** Two bandits came in and spotted me. I hastily shot them both, almost instantly disabling them. After seeing their bodies collapse, I took a moment to look at my newly-owned laser pistol and be impressed by how powerful it is. I am so keeping this, I thought. I guess my stupidity to get myself into crap like this has its perks.

I continued to find my way out of the bandit cave, subduing and looting every bandit I come across. Eventually one of the bandits managed to ambush me off-guard, knocking me to the ground. He was about to thrust his bayonet into me when he was suddenly shot by a few bullets and was knocked out by a kick, the person responsible was then revealed to be Ren.

"Jaune! There you are!"

"Ren! Why, am I glad to see you!" I said, standing up.

"What were you doing here?" he asked.

"Not important." I said, emptying the last bandit's pockets "Let's just focus into getting out of this mess."

He nodded and followed my lead. I gave him all of the pistol ammo I picked up, some of them are much more powerful than one Ren uses, making his dual SMGs more powerful and look less like peashooters mainly used for distraction. He looked puzzled when I handed them to him but chose not to question it.

We soon found Nora and Pyrrha fighting off a horde of bandits that surrounded them. The fight was in our team's favor, with bandits dropping like flies. Made worse for them when one of them thought it would be a good idea to electrify Nora with a shock rod, which went as well as you'd expect.

Nora's screamed as her body started sparking with power. Pyrrha jumped out of the way, knowing what would happen. The bandits remained bewildered until they were all knocked out by a shockwave caused by a single smash of Nora's hammer.

Nora went out of her way to finish off every single one of them as neat as you please; they were never given a chance to retreat or retaliate. We both watched with a mixture of astonishment and horror. "Ren. Remind me to never make her angry." I told him.

"Agh! Who's next?!" she said after putting the last bandit to sleep. Her semblance then wore off and she was back to her normal state. "Jaune!"

She bolted to give me a hug, it was tight especially with the armor I'm wearing, but I have gotten used to it! "You're okay! I mean, of course, you are. You're the fearless Jaune Arc! Nothing could ever get to you!"

Yeah, tell that to these guys when they captured me because I was too busy not being stung by wasps to think clearly.

She suddenly groaned and held her stomach. "Ugh. Sorry, still hung over from the saps."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha approached me. "Thank goodness you're okay. What were you thinking?! Miss Goodwitch told us not to wander off. Now you're here surrounded by… bandits! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

I held both of her shoulders. "Pyrrha. Like I said before, I can solve my own problems."

She sighed. "I guess all that matters is that you're fine. But still don't ever do that again! You have a lot to answer to Professor Goodwitch!"

Right, I almost forgot about that.

"Hey, I don't think we'd be in here if Cardin didn't release those rapier-wasps to me!"

That, and if I thought all of this through.

"Winchester…" she hissed. "Will he ever learn?"

"After this, he probably will," I remarked.

"I think they went this way!" An incoming voice said.

Judging by how many bandits we dealt with. This was likely the last batch. I think I needed to fully repay these bandits for holding me hostage and as gratitude for fine pistol and loot I got, besides, I could use a little more lien.

"So, wanna make the world a better place?" I asked my team.

They all hesitated but agreed anyway. If we knocked out most of a bandit camp, we might as well take care of the rest. Take it as a service to the community.

Six armed bandits came out. "Alright, human scum! You better say your pr—" they then saw all of their unconscious buddies and four barely scathed Huntsmen glaring at them.

"Uhh. Beautiful weather, huh?" One of the bandits said, all of them shuddering.

They were a bunch of bandits only armed with regular weaponry and we were a team of prodigies in one of the finest academies in Remnant with significant amounts of combat experience. Do the math.

That's not even mentioning that Pyrrha used her semblance to pull all of their weapons away from them.

We soon casually walked out of the cave. All bandits were dispatched and looted. I left an anonymous tip for the Valish authorities of the location of the bandit camp. My only concern was explaining this entire mess to Miss Goodwitch.

"So, how are we going to tell Miss Goodwitch that we ended up in a bandit camp?" Nora inquired.

"We don't. We just tell them we got lost and killed a few Grimm along the way." I answered.

"But what if the bandits wake up?"

"They'll be greeted by the authorities when they do. Besides, we took most of their supplies, they are basically broke by now."

"I don't know… but why do I get the feeling that they're not bandits—but something worse." Ren mused.

"You're not the only one. Their emblem looked oddly familiar—I think I heard about them before." Pyrrha concurred.

"Guys. Don't be silly. If they were worse than bandits, I'm sure at least one of us would be too dead to have this conversation." I pointed out. It's rather hard to believe that just we ended up beating something more severe and sinister than a bunch of forest bandits.

"But still…" Pyrrha sighed and shook her head. "Let's just get back to the others."

Good idea, I thought. I didn't want to think about it. It was a fun yet unpleasant experience. I was mostly alive thanks to Pyrrha and Nora dealing with most of the bandits. At least the loot made it all worthwhile, especially the laser pistol, I'm going to be using it a lot.

Also, I'm going to have a hard time passing Dust Studies, since I wasn't able to pass a single jar of sap.

 **=o=**

1\. _Aside from his feats, consummate leadership and fighting ability, Jaune was known by his friends and allies for looting every unconscious/deceased hostile body he comes across, as well as scavenging the area for any valuables and have them sold if they lack any use. Thankfully, he only commits this act to criminals and corrupt officials, otherwise, he would do his best to restrain himself. He admits that video games inspired him to do this._

2\. _Despite being right-handed, Jaune exclusively wields one-handed firearms with only his left hand, even if his dominant hand is vacant. This is because he was trained to used such weapons while wielding a sword, making him ambidextrous to an extent._

* * *

The field trip ended with Cardin and company getting an extended detention. He should be at least thankful for that because if I told Miss Goodwitch that his stunt just caused me to accidentally run into a bandit camp, got me imprisoned and forced my team to wipe it clean just to break me out, he would have gotten suspended or worse. Team CRDL is definitely not going to bother me anymore, that's for sure, halready got the satisfaction of me getting chased by rapier-wasps, now he doesn't have a reason to mess with me for much longer. I'm pretty sure they're still afraid of me because I made them a laughing stock the other day, they just wouldn't admit it.

I went to Vale to sell some of the stuff I took from the bandit camp, the only ones I didn't sell was weapon add-ons and ammo that were compatible with the team's weapons, upgrade parts, medical supplies, dust in case we find ourselves in a situation where we might need it, everything else was fair play.

I ended up making a bank with the junk I sold. The people who bought them were rather suspicious of my possession of them, but were too afraid to ask and just bought them. I spent a quarter of the money I made on laser pistol ammo and a box of pizza for my team to celebrate our first month and surviving the latest incident.

After that, I decided to have some alone time on the rooftop where we train. The view from there is pretty beautiful during the night, especially when it illuminates with lights of the academy and the city lights of Vale in a distance, accompanied by the sound of peaceful silence.

Looking at the night sky and its shattered moon, I can't help but be reminded of the night where I wished to become a hero. Oh, how simple those times were. But that memory also reminded me of why I relinquished that wish. I quickly cleared my head as I did not want to relive that particular period in my life.

But I got to ask myself, was it beneficial for me to be here in Beacon? I found myself conflicted—I still don't want to be in here nor intend to be a Huntsman, but I also made genuine friends here and I cannot afford to let them and my family down. The problem is when this is all over and we're finally graduated, what was I suppose to do when I'm finally free from combat school? Leave the friends I made for the sake of my original plan? Or condemn myself into becoming a potential casualty in a world that cannot be saved? The most logical choice was to just live a regular life while keeping in touch with them, but they'll be disappointed that I will be no longer fighting with them and they'll eventually realize that the Jaune they knew, turned out to be some selfish liar. All I could do for now was lament on what I have gotten myself into.

I stayed there gazing at the scenery while I was updating this journal. I remained uninterrupted until I heard the roof open and saw Pyrrha came in.

"Oh hey, Pyrrha. What brings you here?"

"Hello again. I just want to check up on you."

"Just gazing, nothing much."

"So do you mind if I…"

"No. By all means." I said, tapping the side.

"Thanks." she sat down.

"Hey, Pyrrha. I'm sorry about what happened before. I really don't know what I was thinking at the time." I apologized. She really didn't deserve to be dragged into a mess like that and it was my fault that she got involved.

"It's okay. It wasn't something you couldn't handle. Just don't scare me like that!" she cried.

"I'll do my best. No promises, though." I replied.

It was quiet for a few seconds when Pyrrha spoke up. "Strange day, isn't it?"

"It won't be the last; we'll be here for four years and it's been a month," I said, especially that weirdness in my life has become increasingly common ever since I made a wish on that stupid star and it only has gotten worse since I decided to go to Podunk on that fateful day.

"I guess you could say that," she replied

We then both sat in silence, just staring at the scenery and the night sky, enjoying each other's company. But there was a burning sensation inside that I could not release, something that I have trouble comprehending.

"Jaune…"

"Yeah?" I asked, still eyeing the view.

"I just wanted to say that I…" she hesitated for a moment. "I…"

"What is it?" I turned to her in curiousity.

"I…" she then took a deep sigh before looking back at me. "Nothing. It's just that… since we're both here, I thought we could have a little spar."

I paused for a moment before agreeing with it. "Sure. Why not?" I nodded.

"Great!" she said.

We both started to stand and went to the middle of the rooftop. We both pulled our weapons as we stared at each other. I went with my sword and shield stance, for now, I did not use my pistol because it was too risky and would make too much noise. Gunfire is forbidden during nighttime for a reason.

"Okay, Pyrrha. You can start when—"

She abruptly charged and swung her xiphos. I was startled and blocked the swing just in time.

"Sorry! You told me not to give your opponent a chance to attack while abiding by the rules." she explained.

I was surprised but I was happy she was taking my advice. "Well, Miss Nikos. That's actually a good plan."

"I learned from the best." she chuckled.

I pushed back from her and caught my breath. We smiled at each other before continuing the duel.

I started to understand why they called her the Goddess of Victory. She was so fast and strong that I never felt such adrenaline in a duel since I sparred with Dad. I was only able to get the upper hand a few times while she was dominating me the entire match. It was no surprise that she ultimately won the match between partners.

I got knocked back for last time before Pyrrha sheathed her weapons and offered her hand.

"Good fight, Pyrrha." I said, returning the gesture.

"You're not bad yourself. You have actually been the most challenge I've ever fought in a long time."

"Wait, I have?" I raised my brow in disbelief.

"I don't expect anything less from you. You have proven yourself to be a great fighter after all. Keep it up." she complimented.

It was only necessary for survival though. It was the reason why I was still even breathing after everything I went through. Then again, my survival instincts is what got me here in the first place.

I became much more tired and drowsy after the fight. "Let's get back to the dorm. It's getting really late and I'm really tired after everything that happened." I yawned.

"I was thinking the same thing." she nodded.

We left the rooftop together and went to our dorm. After a sparring session in a long day, rest was the only thing I could think of.

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _After Team JNPR's encounter with the White Fang outpost on Forever Falls, an anonymous terrorist of the Valish division recorded the aftermath of the incident. These documents were eventually recovered after the Atlesian military seized the White Fang's assets following their downfall. Through some bartering, I managed to get a hold of some of these documents for the sake of the archive._

The White Fang Reports: Forever Fall Aftermath.

The philosophy of the legendary Adam Taurus states that the lives of many faunus are worth more than a single human. Hence why the recent attack on the Forever Fall outpost was a huge blow for us, despite being a relatively minor asset located in a crimson-colored wilderness that only a few go to. While the revolution calls for the necessary sacrifice of faunus blood, the attack was not called for whatsoever.

The attack was significant, not only because lives of our fellow revolutionaries were lost and the supplies cached there were stolen, but also because it was not carried out by a hostile military operation, but a single lone human with unknown motives. **[1]** There was only a vague description of his appearance that was provided before the outpost fell: blond, male, average build, around five to six feet tall, wore the colors of white and blue during the attack. Due to how common the perpetrator's physical appearance were, we are lead to believe he could be anyone fitting the description. The brave men and women of the Vale division of the White Fang were warned for any human who shows such attributes, as this mysterious perpetrator is a threat to our cause if he was to go as far as to cripple a part of our organization.

The event claimed the lives of fourteen of our members, most of whom lacked aura, thirty-two were injured and eventually arrested by the Vale Defense Force (VDF) during their arrival, twenty-three others have managed to escape apprehension but are now missing, hungry and defenseless at the Forever Fall forest, a forest lurking with Grimm. There was even a report that one of the survivors, a cat faunus, resorting to cannibalism to a comrade who happened to be a fish faunus, **[2]** prior to being found and arrested. Few of the other survivors have turned themselves to the authorities as a desperate attempt to be fed and sheltered despite their impoverished conditions.

When the Atlesian Military heard about the attack, they took over the operation from the VDF, specifically taking control of the assets seized and the prisoners captured. Since unlike the Atlesian Military, the VDF does not have an active campaign against the White Fang and agreed to hand over the operation.

Fortunately, the outpost was able to transmit a few valuable intel shortly before the attack. The scouts have spotted a group of Huntsman students in the premises; there were two notable individuals found within the group that the outpost planned to kidnap. The first being the SDC heiress—Weiss Schnee, a target for ransom. The second which caught the personal interest of Adam Taurus—Blake Belladonna, a deserter and former agent of our cause, who was still wearing that disgusting bow that hides her feline features. **[3]** A repugnant display indicating shame within your faunus heritage.

Sadly, because the attack occurred minutes later after this information was acquired, they were not able to carry the plan of kidnapping the persons of interest. Nevertheless, our operators manage to pinpoint the girls' location to Beacon Academy. However, Adam Taurus instructed us to postpone any plans to kidnap the Schnee heiress and Miss Belladonna until said otherwise. For now, he wants us to prioritize on the main operation. Despite our losses, the fight against the fascist humans will press forward.

Though, we are not to forget the person who was responsible for essentially destroying and robbing one of our outposts, killing and injuring some of our comrades, and ruining our attempts to kidnap some valuable assets. There was some debate on who the perpetrator was. Some say that he was one of the Huntsmen accompanying the persons of interest, some speculate that he could be the same person who killed a known bandit lord in a small settlement as the person's descriptions match, others even went as far to think that he was death incarnate. Regardless, this person is a threat to our goals and if we were to succeed, he needs to be dispatched as soon as possible.

Seriously, who the fuck is this guy?

 **=o=**

1\. _The White Fang either forgot to include the contributions of Jaune's teammates or was not able to. It's likely because Jaune was the only hostile they were able to designate during the incident._

2\. _Predator faunus have rare tendencies to become cannibalistic towards prey faunus. As a result, many of infighting in the faunus community stems from tensions between predator and prey faunus._

3\. _Strangely, it is indeed confirmed that Blake was still wearing her bow before even attending to Beacon, despite having no reason to, and the practice being frowned upon by faunus society, especially without the intent of infiltrating humans._

* * *

 **Whelp that was my take on the infamous bully arc of Volume 1. So, what do you guys think? Please leave a review to share your thoughts, whether positive or negative.**

 **Jaune's looting tendency was inspired by RPG protagonists, as well the Mass Effect fanfic 'Accidental Hero of the Galaxy', a fic that I mentioned on the first chapter as an example of Ciaphas Cain-inspired works. I just thought that typical video game kleptomania would fit this Jaune's pragmatic and somewhat roguish personality.**

 **Chapter 5 will cover the last two episodes of Volume 1 and will be released soon.**

 **EDIT: I realized I mixed 'theoretical' with 'theological', with the latter referring to religious studies. My bad.**


	5. In Her Shadow

**UPDATE 8/17/2019: More interactions between Jaune and Penny are added on this chapter, and the footnote from Chapter 10 will be placed here since Caiaphas' former occupation is now revealed here instead.**

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _The following chapter takes place four months from the last entry, specifically near the end of the first semester._

 _Before we begin, I would like to add another excerpt, this time it would be centering around Team RWBY's trip to Vale during the preparations for the Vytal Festival before complications between the team ensued. The event was relevant to the following chapter, so I felt that it was appropriate to begin this chapter with an excerpt to give the readers some context behind the following chapter's events._

 _I chose Ruby's account to provide the excerpt, as it presents an unbiased and much more bearable description of the event. Since my old memoirs, while nostalgic, were rather uncomfortable to look through, as if reading about my younger self in Jaune's writings wasn't shameful enough. Meanwhile, Blake's own accounts were written in a questionable prose style that it was rather unreadable, fortunately for the readers, I chose not to include it—for now at least._

The Red Rose Diaries: Friday in Vale

Finally, examinations for the first semester are over! Hopefully, all of the days I spent studying pays off. I still have flashbacks of Weiss drilling us on our studies so she doesn't have to be embarrassed on her team's scores, ugghh! Anyway, to celebrate, we agreed to go on a trip to Vale once the exams were over.

People in Vale were already preparing for the Vytal Festival. There were balloons and streamers placed everywhere. A sign that says "Welcome to Vale!" was put up near the pier for all the visitors to see (The old guy who put it looked familiar, have I met him before?). Even the usually cold and grumpy Weiss was excited, which was kind of weird, but who can blame her? The Vytal Festival was the most exciting time of the year, next to Halloween (which is also my B-day!) and Xmas. There would be dances, parades, and the best of all, the tournaments! Oh, how I used to watch those a lot. Now I could finally participate in them. I can't wait! It's like a party where the kingdoms celebrate peace and harmony after years of fighting, which it kind of is.

Weiss took us to the docks for whatever reason. Made me wonder why someone like her would take us to a place that smells like fish. She said that she wanted to welcome the students coming from Vacuo but Blake pointed out that she wanted to spy on them so she could have the upper hand on the tournament.

That is when I found a Dust Shop in shambles, with the police trying to investigate it. The weird thing was the crooks robbed it didn't take the money. I think the Torchwick guy from a few months ago was behind it, he still was on the loose, after all. One of the officers said it could have been caused by a faunus group called 'The White Fang', a group which Weiss has nothing nice to say about, while Blake defended them, saying they were misguided.

Before things became a little more heated. Somebody called for help to stop a faunus. We went to see what all the fuss is about was. We saw a faunus with a monkey tail who was about our age run past us. We figured that he was one of the students who came from Vacuo, so we tried to follow him so that Weiss could go on her plan observe the competition, but we ended up bumping into someone that caused the faunus boy get away.

The person we bumped with was a strange but very nice girl named Penny. We apologized and tried to go back into looking for the faunus boy but Penny came to us back, probably because I called her a 'friend' a few seconds ago just to be nice, so we just went with it. She said that she is here to compete for the tournament, even though she doesn't look the part. Weiss asked her where the faunus boy went while calling him a 'filthy faunus', **[1]** Blake didn't like that and that's when their argument about the faunus and the White Fang continued.

We didn't felt like hanging out any longer, so we just went back to our dorm at Beacon, and even then, they kept fighting. Yang and I could only watch and listen.

 **=o=**

1\. _In my defense, I only referred to him that because he was literally filthy and was a faunus, but I didn't mean that as an insult to his race. Outside the White Fang, I didn't have much of an opinion to the faunus in general. Regardless, I would like to apologize for my behavior back then. I admit that my choice of words was poor, as I was not exactly the most thoughtful person at the time. Growing up in a family that was constantly under threat by faunus extremists made me rather insensitive._

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **In Her Shadow**

* * *

 _"How many faunus lived and died,_

 _In the Great Faunus Maaa-sacre?_

 _Too many lived and not enough died,_

 _In the Great Faunus Maaa-sacre!"_

 ** _-Banned Atlesian Military Chant._**

Thank gods the examinations are done, they have been driving me insane for the past couple of weeks that if I see another problem on dust equations, I swear I would shoot the first person I see.

It was finally time for me to settle down after the prodigious amounts of studying. I decided to stay at my dorm to have a much needed R&R. Nora and Ren went out to Vale to have a 'totally platonic date' and watch city prepare for the Vytal Fiesta, while Pyrrha has to go for an interview for a Mistrali magazine, leaving me all alone in the dorm with nothing but my comics and video games, not that I'm complaining.

I finally had peace and quiet that I haven't felt for a long time. No interruptions, no training, no homework, no studying, no jackass bullies, no Grimm, no bandits, and no obnoxious noise, not from Nora and not from my sisters, just me and myself. That is until much later in the evening, sounds of arguing became more and more clamorous from next door. Of course, it had to be from Team RWBY, because there isn't any other team nearby that could generate the same commotion that these girls could make.

For the most part, I'm satisfied with my dorm, but if I were to renovate it, I would give it much thicker walls. It's no wonder why the school forbids playing loud music at night. These walls are so paper thin that you could hear your own neighbors snore. Since I used to live in a manor in the middle of the countryside, I never have a problem with noisy neighbors, I had noisy sisters though, but at least my room has more soundproof walls than the ones in here.

What disturbs me the most was that I heard Blake of all girls yelling. The other one was Weiss, but that wasn't surprising. Blake, on the other hand, wasn't the type of person to be open with her opinions, let alone raise her voice. If there was something that made Blake cry out, then something must be very wrong.

They have been going at it for hours and it was not likely going to end soon. It was then I decided that enough was enough and went to investigate what was going on. Considering that Team RWBY is a very close ally to mine, I must be aware of their issues, especially if we were to work well together.

I exited my dorm and went near to Team RWBY's dorm as I continue to eavesdrop on their conversation. I needed to understand the situation if I were to help.

"…It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss yelled.

"Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake cried I froze when I was about to knock.

What?

After that, the world just suddenly paused. I used this time to think, what did she mean by 'we'? What was the group that Weiss despises that Blake seems to be with? Is this why Blake was so always aloof? So many questions, most of them stemming from the lack of context I got.

"I…" was the last thing I heard from Blake before she abruptly bolted out of the room, knocking me over without a word or an apology. I glanced at her as she blurred away from the hallway, shocked at what just happened.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby dashed out of her dorm and saw me laying on the ground. "Jaune! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I said, standing up. "What was that all about?"

"We had a falling out." she tried to answer. "It's a long story. Look, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure? What do you need me to do?"

"Can you please follow her? I need to make sure she's alright." she requested.

I gave a puzzled look. "Why me? You're her teammate, why don't you follow her?"

"I don't think she'd listen to us after what happened. I'm sure she'll be avoiding us." she explained. "Look, just keep an eye on her. Talk to her if you know she'll listen."

She had made a point. I took some time to think about. I looked her worried silver eyes and to the other two girls. Weiss just stood there, staring at the window, while Yang was sitting on a desk chair, looking down knowing what to do that her partner just had a breakdown and ran away.

"Please, Jaune. I trust you." Ruby begged in a sorrowful tone, usual for a cheerful girl like her.

I bit my lip before deciding to take her word since there wasn't any harm to it. "Fine. I'll look for her. I can't bear to see your team broken."

"Thanks, Jaune. I knew I could always count on you."

I left the residence hall and went to the courtyard, it was the only logical place Blake would run away to since the other areas were closed during the night.

I found her gazing at the statue on the middle of the courtyard. There was no one around but me and her. I hid back at one of the lampposts and watched her for a bit.

She slowly started to undo her bow, revealing the cat ears she has been hiding all along within these months.

Somehow I wasn't surprised but rather disappointed with that. Was that really what this is all about? She was a faunus, so what? They're just humans with some animal features, Why are people still making a big deal about that? If people don't stop fighting over something as trivial as someone's race and start to focus on the real problems such as the Grimm, then no wonder why Remnant is doomed.

I didn't know what to do next. She kept standing there, wiping her tears. I thought about going back to Ruby and tell her what I just saw, but I don't think I could do that without Blake's consent. So I just stepped in and approached her to see what happens.

"Hey…"

Blake turned around with her eyes widened. Tears were running down her face.

"So… that's why your bow was a little big."

She was noticeably anxious but shorty calmed down when my tone and expression makes it clear that I wasn't looking for a fight. I suppose that I don't need to tell her that I'm not racist because I whack off to faunus porn, hehe. In seriousness, there wasn't a good reason for me to be racist; I think bigotry is a pointless waste of time.

"Now you know." she sighed, wiping the trail of tears off her face. "You're going to tell the others aren't you?"

"Not if it makes you uncomfortable," I assured. It wasn't my intent to further make this more complicated.

"I'm sorry for hiding this to you since the beginning. I was afraid that no one will like me for what I am."

"Blake, you had no reason to hide who you truly are. I can't exactly hate you for simply having cat ears. This is a school that contains all facets of life." I soothed. I know it sounded hypocritical of me when I spent these past months masquerading as a lovable idiot and partially succeeding, but at least I wasn't making race an issue.

"And what about people like Cardin?" she questioned.

"People like Cardin aren't liked very much. You saw how Nora tried to stand up for Velvet, saying we couldn't just sit and watch." I pointed out.

"Even so, there are still people out there who will not accept for who you are and will look down on you for it." she raised her voice.

That is when I started to lose my patience with her. People will always look for reasons to hate you, no matter how small or irrational it may sound; race, being one of them. "So you're just going to keep hiding what you are?"

"Yes! Maybe! I don't know!" she cried. "Look, this is much more complicated than what you think it is. I really don't know how to say it to you."

"Blake, just tell me what's wrong. We could figure this out."

"I don't know. I still couldn't show my face to my team after what happened back at the dorm." she looked down. "They sent you, did they?"

"Yes. They did." I nodded hesitantly. It was pretty obvious, there wasn't any point to lying about it.

"So, mind if I ask you something?" she questioned.

"I'm all ears."

She hesitated for a moment before spitting it out. "Can tell them that you couldn't find me? I'm going to leave Beacon for a while. Please don't tell anyone what you just saw."

I widened my eyes at her request. "Leave? But—"

"I'll explain everything to you soon. Right now, I need to think about this. I promise I'll come back."

I pondered on her word. I didn't know if I should let her go when Ruby is worried sick about her. On the other hand, she did tell me to just make sure she was okay, she didn't exactly expect me to bring her back.

"Please…"

I looked at her in her amber eyes and saw myself in her. She seems to trust me, I doubt that she'll lie to me. "If that's what you want."

"Thanks," Blake said before disappearing. After that, she was gone with the wind, nowhere to be found.

I felt like I just betrayed Ruby now that I let Blake loose but I felt like it was best for her team. If their problems with each other are really that bad, then they really do need some space from each other and think about it. Besides, if Blake didn't trust me, she would have run away the moment she saw me.

I walked back to the dorms and knocked on Team RWBY's dorm. The door opened and I saw Ruby.

"So how was it?"

"Couldn't find her. I thought I saw her once, turned out to be a shadow clone. Sneaky cat." I lied.

Her eyes widened. I just realized that I slipped an implication that I knew about her faunus heritage.

"Was it something I said?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry for bugging you into this. It's just that I'm worried about her." she whimpered.

"She'll be fine, she did get to Beacon after all. I'm sure she could handle herself out there."

"You're right." she said. "Well, thanks anyway. I'm sorry if we bothered you."

"No problem." I nodded. "I'm just glad to help."

I went back to my dorm. For that night, all I could do was worry for Team RWBY, especially Blake.

* * *

After the night when Blake went to the stray, I tried going back into enjoying my last weekend here in Beacon before semestral break officially begins on Monday. Team RWBY waited for the whole day for Blake to come back anytime soon but sadly, she never came.

A day after that, it was Sunday. Nora, Ren and I went to Vale to hang-out for a few hours. Pyrrha said she was needed somewhere else and unfortunately couldn't come.

We were at the arcade. Ren and I were both playing a light gun game. We've managed to complete it while carrying the guns with only one of our hands. We received substantial amounts of tickets after beating it, which was added by the high scores we made thanks to our shooting accuracy. Ren would have completed the game solo using both of the player guns, but there were only two spots, so he had to use only one gun since I also intend to play the game as well to exercise my left arm that I use for shooting. Come to think of it, it would have been appropriate to wear suits when playing it like that, we would have looked liked hitmen from a crime drama.

Nora meanwhile spent nearly all of her money buying tokens to eventually win a prize from the dreaded claw machine.

"Grr. Cursed machine! How dare you not let me win that cute widdle teddy bear wanting to leave this glass box you imprison him in?!" Nora screamed after another failed attempt.

Suffice to say, she would have spent a lot less if she just simply buy one. At least she's restraining enough not to break the machine and get us banned; her raw strength was enough to shatter the machine's glasses. I was already skeptical into getting her to play the strength test, something which she could undoubtedly break without even trying. But she couldn't bother to play that because she has been stuck on the claw machine since we arrived. Can't say I blame her though, I haven't won a single prize in my entire life from a claw machine myself, these things are so rigged against you that some people believe that it's made for scamming.

"Token. You are my last hope. Don't fail me now." Nora said, holding to her last token before inserting it to the machine.

Nora carefully controlled the crane above one of the teddy bear's position. I can see her forehead sweating. She stuck her tongue out for maximum concentration, her turquoise eyes focused and calculating, doing her best to determine the precise position. The claw continues to hover above the target prize, stopping after Nora decided that it was time to grab it. She pressed the button, making the claw descend towards its designated mark.

Nora shivered as she watched the claw go toward the stuffed toy. The claw's closed, only managing to barely grab one of the teddy bear's hind legs. Nora quivered as the claw ascends back. Alas, the claw dropped the bear when it almost reached its destination, making it fall back towards its fellow prizes, condemned to stay inside a children's claw machine for more years to come, maybe even forever.

Okay, what the heck did I just wrote?

"NOOOOOO!" Nora sent a scream, loud enough to be heard by all of Vale, the arcade goers all stared at us before going back to their respective activities after a couple of seconds.

Nora went to Ren who gave her a comforting hug. I felt genuine pity for her; these claw machines simply cannot be won.

"Why? Why?! Why the world must be so cruel?" Nora sobbed.

"There, there. Nora. How about I get you one with the tickets we've won."

"Wait. Really? You would do that for me?"

"You've been my best friend for half my life, Nora. Of course, I'll do that for you."

We went to the prize counter. Ren gave out our tickets and used it to redeem a teddy-bear that is twice as big as the one Nora was trying to get.

"Here you go," Ren said as he was handing over the stuffed bear.

Nora was a loss for words. As her childhood friend, she already knows that he'll be there for her, but even then, she was still surprised to see her friend generously give her a toy that she was trying to win.

She hugged the bear before hugging Ren once again. "Oh, thank you, Ren! I am so glad to have a good friend like you!"

I smiled at the sight. Despite their obvious differences, it was nice to know that these two will always be at each other's side no matter the circumstance. If only Team RWBY treated each other like that the same way...

I felt my scroll vibrate. I took it out and saw a text message from Blake.

'It's time I explain everything to you. Meet me at the balcony on the second floor of the Café Noire in Downtown. Go alone, turn your tracker off and make sure you aren't being followed.

-B.'

I put down my scroll and puffed. "Look, I know this is short notice, but I have to go somewhere. You two have fun." I said before I part ways with the dynamic duo.

"Oh, okay. Stay safe, Jaune!" Nora said, holding her bear.

I went outside, I was already at Downtown so all I needed to do was go to Café Noire.

* * *

The café was located only a few blocks away from the arcade. It was a short walk. I went to the balcony at the second floor as Blake instructed. I saw her sitting on a table, wearing her bow again. She was with another boy who annoyingly almost has the same color scheme as mine, only missing something black on his top, he also was a monkey faunus, **[1]** and carried his cup with his tail.

I assumed that Blake's teammates would get the same message and also be present, but they were nowhere to be found. I find it weird how Blake would trust me over her teammates. We really still haven't talked that much outside of that chance encounter at the library during the first week, even then our conversation during that day was rather brief. It's probably because I acted too nice that she ended up trusting me. Really, it's partially my fault that her teammates have been looking for her since Friday night.

"Oh good, you're finally here," Blake said.

"So, he's the guy?" the boy asked her.

"Yes. Sun, this is Jaune. Jaune, I'd like you to meet Sun."

"Nice to meet you. Sun Wukong. Haven Academy." he offered his hand.

"Jaune Arc. Beacon, the same school as hers. Nice to meet you too." I returned the gesture and took a seat.

"Haven? That's an academy in Mistral. Aren't you from Vacuo?" Blake questioned him.

"Actually, yeah I am from Vacuo, but I study at Haven. I just went back there immediately after the break to meet up with my family before taking the first ship to Vale."

"Then why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"You never asked," Sun shrugged.

Blake rolled her eyes and took a sip of tea before turning to me. "Here, get yourself something to drink." she gave me a menu.

"So does this place have any tanna?" I asked while reading through the menu.

"What's tanna?" Blake asked.

I kept reading the menu and saw there weren't any tanna. "Nevermind," I replied, slightly disappointed. I really miss the taste after not drinking since I got to Beacon. "So where are your teammates, Blake? Whatever you're about to explain, I think they deserve to hear it."

"I think they already knew, which is why I couldn't bear to show my face to them. But I did promise you that I will explain everything."

Fair enough. I just wanted to know what was going on. "Well, by all means, shoot."

She took a deep breath. "Alright, here it goes… Jaune. Sun. Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Can't say I have," I answered although the name does ring a bell. I could recall hearing the name a few times, I just don't know when.

"Of course! I don't think there's a faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them." Sun spoke up. "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

Blake took another sip of her tea. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

I looked at her with mild surprise. Sun meanwhile coughed that he almost choked on his drink that he dropped it. "Wait a minute, _you_ were a member of the White Fang?!"

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it."

I was slightly alarmed by her remark. If Sun said was true, that this 'White Fang' were a bunch of violent thugs, then I should be careful around Blake. I did tell myself to calm down, because if Blake was the criminal she used to be, then she would have stirred some trouble a long time ago. Then again, her being aloof could mean that she was up to something.

"Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people—and I was there, I was at the front of every rally, I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference, but I was just a youthful optimist."

A youthful optimist… I know how that one felt.

She continued. "Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used faunus labor, and the worst part was—it was working. We were being treated as equals, but not out of respect... out of fear."

She finishes her cup. "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress."

That was… eye-opening. Thankfully, it has disproven my suspicions that Blake was still associated with that group. Still, I'm disturbed that racial divisions are still intact. Prejudices die hard, but I guess you can partly blame the White Fang for that.

"So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." she looks up and wiggled her bow.

"So, have you told your friends any of this?" Sun inquired.

"I think you should. White Fang or not, that's not the first thing that would come to their mind when they hear your name. No, no. They'll think of their teammate, Blake, that shy girl who wears a big bow and likes to read. Whatever you were before, it's now in the past. Let it go." I said in my best efforts in an attempt to coerce her into ending this drama.

"I wish it was that simple." she sighed. "I don't know, Jaune. Especially not with Weiss. She has a vendetta against the White Fang, since the SDC has been one of their major targets. I don't think she'll forgive me for associating with a group that has been sabotaging her family's company for a while." Blake said.

Well, crap. That explains it a bit.

"Wait, so you're telling me that your teammates with a Schnee? Man, talk about some bad blood." Sun commented.

"This whole thing started when we were strolling together in the city and saw a dust shop in ruins. The police said that the White Fang was one of the possible perpetrators, and Weiss was inclined to agree. I was foolish enough to defend their actions and call them misguided, that was when we started to argue. Eventually, it became heated enough that I slipped into associating myself with the faunus, I ran away and the rest is history."

"Wow," Sun remarked.

"So, do you still think that this is all just a simple dispute?" Blake questioned me.

Although she did make the situation clear, it raised more questions that I had to ask. "Look, I see what you're going through. But couldn't you just tell them that you don't want to do anything with the White Fang anymore? You already saw that they do more harm than good that you left. So why did you even bother defending them?!" I chastised her. "You didn't necessarily have to make this more complicated."

"Even if the White Fang took their actions too far, it does not change the fact that Weiss made discriminatory remarks on the faunus; people like her are why some of them join the White Fang!" she raised her voice, gripping her empty cup.

"But does that make them any better? You said that faunus were being treated as equals out of fear, right? I may be an idiot sometimes, but I know that's not equality, Blake, because they never properly promoted it in the first place. Do you really think that humanity would take kindly to extremism? No, they instead gave them a good reason to fear the faunus when bigotry was then simply caused by ignorance. If their goal was to increase tensions between humans and faunus instead of advocating equality, then they did it, congrats to them." I snapped. "So, are you proud of what they have accomplished so far?"

I realized that I have acted too much out of character but I was not in the mood on playing dumb and pretending that this was all okay; I knew that nothing good will happen if I just let this stand. Admittedly, I'm even not sure if I know what I'm talking about. For all I know, I could be making stuff up. What I just said were based on her accounts and basic understanding of how the White Fang's revolts was a failed attempt on promoting harmony between the races and took extreme methods instead.

On the bright side, the café's second floor and exterior are empty, I don't like people eavesdropping a rather personal conversation.

Blake paused but she wasn't giving up just yet. "You may not see it much these days, but the faunus are suffering a lot more than you think. Some of them were never given a choice but to join the White Fang because they're their only hope! What do think they were supposed to do?"

"By proving them wrong!" I answered. She was taken aback by that response. "My mom told me that success is the best revenge, and I believe she's right. I've met faunus that prospered despite everything that they have to go through. They flourished so much their species wasn't the first thing that comes to mind. And if anyone tried discriminating them because of what they are, then they are ridiculed for their bigotry. So instead of throwing violent, collective tantrums and giving humans a reason to hate you, why not prove that you're more than just a bunch of animals? I know it's not easy and it's a long road ahead, but I do know that it's worth it." I took a moment to breathe. "Not everyone wants to put the faunus down, Blake, many of us are doing our best to give you a chance. So why make things worse for us both?" I didn't want to sound preachy or political, but I had to convince Blake to dispel her own doubts and get back to her team.

She froze, she looked down her cup and pondered on what I just said.

"I can't help but agree with him. He's made a good point." Sun said after silently listening to us for a while. Good to know that somebody was seeing sense in all this.

Blake sighed. "You're right. I guess the White Fang that I knew and believed in is gone. I was a fool to think so otherwise." she sheepishly admitted.

You know, stuff like this is the reason people tend to shy away from controversial politics. This wasn't some heroic rebels versus evil authority bullshit the entertainment industry tend to romanticize—this was real life, where each side has their reasons. I don't know about you, but I do know that even if the end justifies the means, people will forget about your 'noble causes' if you go too far, and yet they still have the gall to act all high and mighty.

"There's still a chance to set things right, Blake. And by choosing to become a Huntress, you already are trying to make a difference."

She looked at her cup for a moment before brightening up. "I'll take your word for it then."

"Glad that's settled." I beamed.

"So what's the plan now?" Sun asked.

"While there's no denying that the White Fang has been extreme a lot lately, I still don't believe they are behind these robberies. They've never needed that much dust before."

"But what if they did?" Sun questioned. "I mean—the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," she replied.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?" she inquired with interest.

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"

"Well, you said that the White Fang hated the SDC's guts. So, if they do need that much of dust, then what is the better way than to steal from the company they despise so much?" Sun pointed out. "In short, I am very sure."

"Then we're going there now," Blake concluded. "Jaune, are you coming with us? We could use an extra hand. We're going to need your help should things go wrong."

Oh boy, I feared that it would come to this. But declining would only prove that I was a coward, and I couldn't have that, and someone from the school had to keep an eye on Blake. "Alright, but in one condition, after you're done. You'll go back to Beacon, and you'll apologize to your team and talk it out. Deal?"

"Can't really argue with that. Deal." she complied. She looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. "Best we get going, the White Fang could attack at any time. We need to be there before they do."

We stood up and left the café. I sent a message to my team saying that I'll come home late. And that's assuming that if I even get out of this alive.

"Hey Jaune, I can't help but notice that you're kind of familiar, I think I've heard about you before," Sun asked as we were making our way to the docks.

Are people still hanging on to that? I know El Segador was a big deal on Vacuo, but I thought we have reached the point where the person responsible for that has faded to obscurity. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

He kept staring at me before he shook his head and carried on "Eh, I'm probably going crazy. Sorry to bother you."

Phew, that was close. Somebody reminding me of that shameful event was the last thing I needed.

Hopefully, it won't get worse from here. I just want to help out a friend to keep myself on Team RWBY's good side, now I'm getting involved in racial politics and low-key espionage. Hooray.

 **=o=**

1\. _He also happened to be the same faunus we tried to chase from the excerpt above._

* * *

They say that 'curiosity kills the cat.' I spent the entire thing worrying that it might become literal, even if they might have nine lives. Considering that we were about to face a group that are essentially terrorists. I fetched my weapons and hoped for the best while preparing for the worse.

I've seen Blake fight more than enough to know how to have her use her skills to our advantage. The problem is that her fighting style relies on stealth and surprise attacks because there's only so much you could do when your weapon is a katana **[1]** -slash-simple pistol with a cable attached to it and the weapon's sheath. I don't know much about Sun. When I asked on how he fights, he answered that he uses a bow-staff that can change into two nun-chucks that also shoots bullets. His semblance has him summon clones of himself, but unlike Blake's clones, they could be touched. Of course, like most other useful semblance, it takes up a lot of his aura, especially if he overuses it in one sitting. This leads me to assume that his role was suited for dealing with multiple opponents at once. All of these was in case things go wrong; our objective was to investigate dust robberies and see if the White Fang was truly responsible or not. Nobody said that we had to engage with angry faunus terrorists.

We've been at the roof on one of the warehouses, staking out the docks for hours starting at dusk and it was painfully uneventful. We could have fallen asleep once the White Fang arrives. At least Sun bought some cards for us to play.

Sun eventually got bored and decided to head out, saying he would come back. By this time, the freighter carrying the SDC containers arrived and was offloaded. After that, the dock's closed and the everyone working there went home, leaving the place empty, that suspiciously there were even no guards to be found.

"That's really their targets, is it?" I questioned.

"It's definitely something they would take," Blake remarked.

"Strange. You'd expect a huge corporation to have their stuff guarded especially if they're constantly attacked by a certain group."

"Now that you've mentioned it, something's feels off." she said. "Anyway, your tracker is still off right?"

"Yes, it's still off," I answered. That didn't mean I can't turn it back on when things get out of hand.

Blake and I stared at the containers for an amount of time. Needless to say, it was dull watch a bunch of metal boxes stand still and waiting for something to happen. Out of boredom, I ended up putting my gaze into admiring Blake's pretty backsides as it illuminates in the moonlight; this encouraged me to stay for another while.

I quickly stopped and turned back to overlooking the docks after hearing Sun returned with some green apples him.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there." Blake said.

"I stole us some food!" Sun said, showing some of the apples he bought.

"Uhh, thanks?" I complimented as I take one of them and took a bite. It was strange that I accepted generosity on a stolen good. But then again, considering my tendency to scavenge, I wasn't any better myself, but at least I stole from those who I thought deserved it and was inconspicuous enough to keep a clean record.

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake commented, and this was coming from someone who used to work with the same terrorist group we were currently investigating. **[2]**

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun responded, earning her glare. "Okay, too soon!"

He went back into watching the docks while both quietly munch our apples. Few minutes in and there was still no White Fang drones to be found.

"Hey, Jaune," Sun called.

"Yeah?"

"Can I whisper you something?" Sun gestured me closer. I leaned near him for what he had to say. "Are you two dating?"

I was baffled by the question. While Blake was attractive by her own right, I don't see her anything like that. "What? No! What gave you the idea?"

"I just thought I'd ask." he sheepishly defended.

"Quiet, you two! I think they're coming." Blake told us, pointing us to a Bullhead coming to the docks with its searchlights on. It descended near the containers as we kept our heads low.

When the Bullhead's ramp opened, a group of people in unfortunately familiar apparel emerged from the aircraft. They were wearing the same black and white uniform, and the same visors, and carried the very same emblem on their back of their vests as the bandits I ran into a few months back at Forever Fall. I wished my mind was playing tricks on me—but it wasn't. I realized that the White Fang was indeed the group I encountered that day. Ren was right when he said what we fought were more than just bandits, and I never believe him, because I was too afraid to think so. Wonderful, this means that I ended up gaining the notoriety of a godsdamn terrorist organization hellbent on making humanity pay, with one of their ex-members being a member of my sister team. They are definitely going to murder me when they find out that I was the one that subdued, looted and reported one of their bases.

"Oh no." Blake murmured.

"Gods, it's really them," I murmured to myself, still in disbelief that I crossed paths with them before. Although I was quiet, it didn't stop Sun from hearing it.

"You've seen them before?" he asked, with Blake turning her head at me with suspicion.

"Saw them in the news." I quickly lied without stammering, which seems to have convinced them.

"Deep down, I knew. I just didn't want to be right." Blake whimpered.

I was about to suggest to leave and maybe call the police since we got what we came here for and there wasn't need for anything to complicate things further.

"Hey! What's the hold-up?!" A voice said, gaining Blake's attention. An orange-haired man with a white coat, bowler hat and cane walked out from the Bullhead. Aside from looking like he came straight out from _The Tangerine Cogsworth_ , what was off about him is that he doesn't seem to have visible faunus features. Granted, the faunus features of the other members aren't visible too, given that they wore uniforms that almost cover their whole body. I assumed that this one has his hidden beneath his hat, that is until he makes a statement that immediately debunked that.

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Blake stated.

"This is stupid! Why the hell did they put you in charge?! I didn't sign up to get pushed around by another lowly humie like you!" One defiant member stood his ground.

Seems to me that they would, they just don't look happy when doing so.

"Disobedience, huh? That's a mistake." he replied before butting his cane on the member's stomach, making him fall to the ground. The others just stood back even if they were noticeably tempted to aim their guns at him. "You can go cry to Adam all you want, but as long we agreed to collaborate, I don't think any of you tools can do jack shit about it! Now, are we really doing this or what?"

"Adam? Collaborate? What's going on here?" Blake questioned as she stood up, drew her weapon and leaped from the warehouse.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun was surprised by Blake's sudden decision to storm out.

"Blake, wait!" I said. We were not supposed to confront anyone. So much for being discreet. I pulled my scroll and turned on my tracker just in case. "Don't move. Let her take care of this for now." I told Sun

"Well, do you have some sort of plan or what?!"

"I wish I had, but I'll work something out!" I said, he could only agree at the moment.

Blake snuck behind one of the containers and peaked to get a view on the bowler hat guy yelling at a stooge who was holding some kind of rope.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" he said before Blake came out and put her blade on his throat "What the—?! Oh, for fu—"

"Nobody move!" Blake warned as White Fang thugs surround her with their weapons drawn.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." the bowler hat guy said.

"Blake Belladonna? Is that you?" One of the terrorists recognized her, causing her to feel a bit uneasy but remained firm nonetheless.

"Blake Belladonna?" Mr. Bowler Hat laughed. "So you're the kitten chick that Adam won't shut up about. Guess he wasn't screwing around when he said that you wear such a ridiculous bow."

"Shut up!" Blake snarled, removing her bow and exposing her cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?!"

"Why should we answer you, traitor?!" One of them retorted.

"Oh, you really have no idea what's happening, do you?" the bowler hat guy commented.

"Would you care to explain then?" Blake interrogated.

"Well, your old friends and I are going in on a joint business venture together!" he answered.

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation"

Sun and I felt the wind blow against us and saw two more Bullheads fly past us and hovered above them.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..." he said shortly before launching a large explosion at Blake's feet, causing an explosion large enough to be seen outside the docks visible around nearby parts.

Oh dammit, I hope these terrorists have some goods worth taking because I'm not happy that I have to go through this nonsense.

 **=o=**

1\. _A common mistake that even Ruby, a weapons enthusiast, is guilty of. Blake's weapon is actually called a ninjatō, which resembles katanas, only lighter and shorter, making them much more suitable for stealth._

2\. _And partaking in many sabotages against the Schnee Dust Compa_ n _y™ no less. Though, it should be noted that I had Blake pardoned for her crimes against the company, shortly after I took over the position as CEO._

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _For the readers' convenience, I decided to add an excerpt here, which follows Ruby and Penny's search for Blake, before and after the incident of the docks occured, just so readers won't have the same confusion as Jaune on their eventual involvement._

The Red Rose Diaries: The Search for Blake

It's been a whole day since Blake disappeared and she hasn't come back yet. We decided to go to Vale and look for her because she might never come back and I don't want team RWBY to be broken before this semester ends. It's going to be hard because Vale is rather a big city, and we couldn't track her down because her tracker was off.

We tried visiting the bookstore because it was one of the places she likes to go when visiting Vale. Sadly, the owner, Tukson, said that she hasn't visited lately, and the sushi restaurant, which was also one of her favorite places, said the same. Not giving up, we continued to look for her. She can't just abandon us while we're about to finish the first semester. I'm positive that she'll come back to us, I just don't know how or when.

Weiss suggested we go tell the police, which sounded good, but then you realize that Weiss still don't trust Blake yet and could have her arrested because she could really be from the White Fang.

We met Penny again. When we told her we were looking for Blake, Penny said that she recognized her and that she was a faunus girl, which really proved that she was hiding something for us. There was always something fishy with Blake, but it turns out she's just a faunus, which isn't actually much of a big deal if you ask me. Everyone was welcome to Beacon and become our friend. Weiss just needs to stop being mean to her because of that.

Anyway, Weiss and Yang suddenly ditched me and I was left with Penny. I told her everything that happened. Penny said she didn't have a lot of friends, but if she did, she wants them to talk to her about things.

Same thing I also want…

I continued to look for Blake as we continued to talk more about things. For once, we managed to get some good news. When Penny and I went to Café Noire, the owner said that she had seen her and that if that's really her, then she arrived hours ago and was chatting with two blond boys. I don't know who are the blond boys she was referring to, Jaune maybe? I tried to call him but he wouldn't return the call, so I called his teammates. Nora said that Jaune went to do something they don't know because he never told them and that his tracker was off, which probably proved that he's with Blake. But why does he need to turn off his tracker? Maybe Blake told him to, I dunno. But this tells me that he is with her; the only thing we needed to do was find them.

Since they were last seen in the café, they can't be that far. It was getting dark, but we haven't given up on searching just yet.

Suddenly, there we saw an explosion coming from the docks. Whether it's her or not we couldn't just stay there and do nothing. Someone might need help. So Penny and I decided to head there.

* * *

Mr. Bowler Hat continues to shoot missiles at Blake, who continues to dodge every single one. The recently arrived Bullheads opened revealing more White Fang terrorists. Meanwhile, I was trying to come up with a plan on how to deal with this.

"Okay, you go handle the White Fang goons while Blake keeps the human in the bowler hat busy. I'll stay back and provide supporting fire on enemies you can't reach. Try to find a way to get rid of those choppers. I'll try to shoot the pilots if I can. I suggest taking some dust from the containers and use them to create explosions for the Bullhead. It shouldn't hurt spending some of the dust we are trying to protect. Did you get all of that?" I glanced at my side, only to see that Sun wasn't there. "Sun?"

"Leave her alone!" Sun said, who was already at the ground facing Mr. Bowler Hat.

Oh for the love of all things decent. Was there someone here who would not ruin our chances of getting out of this alive?!

"Hey, I think that's him! Let's get 'em, boys!" One of the members on the Bullhead said. I put my head back up, puzzled at that statement, as they all jumped off and surrounded Sun. They attacked all at once, barely giving him a chance to fight back. I watched in horror as Sun lie on the ground, getting ganged up by a bunch of terrorists who apparently has some vendetta against him for some reason.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" mocked the bowler hat guy.

I had to do something otherwise I won't be able to peacefully sleep at night knowing I just left them to suffer. So I took the stairs down and hid behind one of the crates as I pulled my sword and laser-pistol.

I blasted off one of the White Fang goons with my laser-pistol, alerting them and diverting their attention to me.

"Wait a minute, this isn't a human!" A terrorist said after they stopped beating up Sun and saw his monkey tail.

Sun quickly recovered and sweeps the legs of all the hostiles around him before standing up and pulling out his bow-staff. "You think?"

"I couldn't see anything in this mask!" One member retorted.

"Another pet! **[1]** Get rid of him—and the humie too!" Another member yelled, rallying the others.

"Hey, don't call us that!" Sun said as he attacks the White Fang lackeys around him.

I went back to shooting down the ones trying to get to me. Not one was able to stand close save for one who tried to stab me in the back, which I deflected with my sword just right in time.

"Hey, aren't you the guy that—?" he tried to inquire when I kneed his nuts, before slashing him out.

"We found him!" Another set of White Fang was storming toward me. Oh boy, don't tell me they recognize me and remembered what happened at Forever Fall. Did I just make it to their hit-list? Was that why they started to beat up Sun because they thought he was me and we wore almost the same colors?

Regardless, there was no turning back from this. I holstered my laser-pistol and raised my shield, blocking the gunshots from the incoming terrorists. I thrusted myself toward them and slammed my shield at the first terrorist. I spun my sword around, hitting all the terrorists nearby. I proceeded to them slash away then collapsed my shield back into a scabbard and pointed my laser-pistol to the last two terrorists standing.

"He's mine!" Blake interjected. I glanced at her to see her clashing with Mr. Bowler Hat. Despite her agility, he continues to block her every attack and even manages to hit her until he knocked her out. Sun comes in and changed his bow-staff into two nunchucks. The two traded off some blows as Sun swings his weapons while firing them, causing bullets to fly around. Blake suddenly returned and slashed him back.

He was lying on the ground when he looked up and shot a rope carrying a container above Sun and Blake. Blake flips back behind it while leaped forward to the ground before meeting the barrel of bowler hat guy's cane.

I quickly fired at his hand, causing it to deflect and shoot at the side. He angrily glanced at me and shot a missile, which I managed to it block off with my shield at the last second. I put my shield down to see him lunge at me. I found myself now clashing with Mr. Bowler Hat. I proceeded to deflect all of his attacks as he does the same with mine. This went on for half a minute.

"Hey guys, Could we just all attack at the same time?!" I yelled at my two faunus companions.

"We're kinda busy here!" Sun responded while he and Blake are dealing with another wave of White Fang soldiers. Jeez, how many terrorists did they bought to carry some containers?

A flurry of missiles came toward me as I blocked every single one, albeit getting knocked back a little. I pulled down my shield and began returning fire with my laser-pistol while shooting some of the goons attacking Sun and Blake.

He was hit with one of the blasts and staggered back. I ran back to him and swung my sword, only to be blocked by his cane. "You kids are really getting on my nerves!" he yelled as he tried to push me back. "I appreciate the challenge and all, but would you learn not to stick your noses on where it doesn't belong?!"

"Hey!" A familiar voice called. I saw Ruby standing a top of the warehouse with her scythe on her hand.

"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your be—oof!" he tried to taunt her when I seized the opportunity and whipped his face with my laser-pistol while he was in the middle of it and kicked him to the ground. I aimed my gun at him with my finger near the trigger. "You know, that wasn't very nice of you."

Ruby leaped off the building and landed next to us, "Give it up, Torchwick!" she pointed her sniper rifle at him. "We got you now!"

"Seriously, you again? What the hell do you want from me this time?" Mr. Bowler Hat or Torchwick—according to Ruby—snarled.

I raised my brow at the familiarity between the two. "You two know each other?"

"It's kind of a funny story." **[2]** Ruby said.

"Look, as much as I would love to stay and beat both of you up for being stubborn brats, I'm afraid that I have more pressing matters to attend to," he remarked, as he turned to see three Bullheads coming towards us and started firing its mounted guns.

"Get down!" I said as I pushed myself and Ruby down to the ground and shielded us from a barrage of bullets coming from the Bullheads. Torchwick got up and ran from us while we were down.

"Hey! You almost hit me, you morons!" he yelled at the Bullheads. Considering how he treated his underlings, I wouldn't be surprised if they did try to kill him and make it look like an accident.

As we both got up. I started thinking of a way on how to deal with three bullheads, several terrorists, and one crime boss all in once. Little did I know, the answer was right behind me.

"Salutations!" An inappropriately enthusiastic voice suddenly greeted. I turned back and saw a short freckled green-eyed, orange-haired girl with a pink bow behind the back of her head—a ginger if that's what they're called, she was wearing a grey blouse and a greyer slim backpack. "You must be Jaune. Nice to meet you!" I was too dumbfounded by seeing a happy girl in the middle of a tense situation to make a verbal response.

"Penny! What are you doing here? I told you to stay back." Ruby ran to her.

"I came to help." she replied.

"No, Penny, it's too dangerous!"

"Don't worry, Ruby!" she reassured. "I'm combat ready!" A blade came out of her backpack before multiplying into several blades while they fly behind her back.

She dashed towards Sun and Blake, who was still fighting off yet another lot of White Fang troops. Penny came in and knocked out multiple terrorists with her blades. Sun and Blake could only stand by and be shocked as they watch her dispose of the remaining terrorists. The last wave of White Fang soldiers were entering the scene. Penny made a wheel out of her floating swords and it threw to them, making them all fall like bowling pins.

The three Bullheads started firing at her. Penny uses her blades to deflect the bullets from her while sending out two of them to stick at the warehouse before they both get attached by strings coming from her backpack and pulling her to the warehouse. She then used her blades to create a rotating ring and used it to charge and fire a large beam powerful enough to cut two of them in half, with White Fang members visibly falling as the sliced Bullheads crash into the water, while the third Bullhead just cowered away.

I stood by in amazement while these questions hover in my head: Who the hell was this friend of Ruby? Where did she come from? How was she doing that? What the hell was going on?! I didn't know what to expect.

Penny pierced her blades at the last Bullhead, which was carrying a container. She uses her string-attached blades to tug the Bullhead with inhuman strength as she walks back with bare difficulty.

"Woah. How is she doing that?" Ruby commented. I was asking the same thing.

The Bullhead tries to fly away in vain but remained being pulled by a petite girl who looks no older than Ruby. Penny eventually threw the Bullhead down, making it crash to a stack of containers.

While saving the containers weren't exactly an objective, as we were only here to investigate their theft, not exactly protect them, I'm still rather anxious about the damages we had to pay after all of this is done.

We got too distracted watching her that we didn't notice Torchwick get in a Bullhead.

"Hey!" I shouted. The Bullhead flew away as I tried to shoot him down before he closed the door and the Bullhead boosted away.

"Crap." I murmured as I watch him fly away scot free.

Penny's blades all swirl back to her pack in an orderly fashion. "The area is secure!" she stood straight, her smile still hasn't left her face nor did she show any sign of tiredness; she didn't even literally sweat once!

"Penny… that was AMAZING! How did you learn to fight like that?!" Ruby squealed.

"I'd be happy to tell you! But sadly it's a big secret so I can't."

Yeah, I can see why, I thought while looking at the crashed Bullhead, with one of its members barely crawling out. Which reminds me...

I went to the crash site and stomped at the White Fang terrorist unconscious before searching the body for any valuables then taking them. I went back to the duo who was still holding a conversation. Sun and Blake soon stepped in.

"Blake!" Ruby dashed to her, giving her a hug. "I'm so glad you are okay!" After letting go of her teammate, she notices something odd on the head. "Blake... you have…"

"I know. Ruby… I'm sorry for making you worry about me, and for hiding this from you for this long." Blake apologized. "Just so you'd know, I'm no longer with the White Fang. Would you please forgive me?"

"Of course. We're friends, Blake. Friends look out for each other." Ruby said. She then turned to Sun "Hey, aren't you that monkey faunus from Friday?"

"Yep, that was me!" Sun boasted. "Sun Wukong. So, you're Blake's team leader?"

"Yes, I am. You're from Vacuo, right?"

"Mistral. Studying at Haven. I used to live Vacuo though. I'm also a team leader myself!"

"Oh, nice! Jaune is a team leader too."

"Really? It's no wonder why you're smarter than you look." he remarked. "Erm. No offense."

"It's fine," I reassured. I really didn't look like much.

"And you!" he gestured to Penny. "Man, you were so awesome! I've never seen anyone do that. You kind of saved all of us."

"It was my pleasure. It's nice to meet you all. My name is Penny Polendina I'm from Atlas Academy!"

"Well, Penny. It's good to have you on our side." I said as I looked at her handiwork. Really, had she not intervened, this would have been a lot more complicated. I doubt that even one of us would survive.

Penny then stared at me for a moment before identifying who I was. "Wait... are you Jaune Felix Arc? The son of former-Commissar **[3]** Caiaphas Kaine Arc?!"

Unsurprisingly at this point, here is another person that recognized me thanks to me being born to a somewhat nepotistic family of heroes and largely because of an achievement that I got from choosing to run some errands at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, it did impress me that she was able to refer both me and Dad with our full names. Rarely anyone called us that way, even to those who were aware of it. It must because she's from Atlas, and most of my father's fame usually comes from there since it was his home before settling down with Mom.

"Yes, I am." I nodded modestly at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" she chirped "Your father has done a great service not just to Atlas, but to the rest of the world as well! And I hope you'll able to continue doing the same and follow his footsteps."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that," I said as I beamed at her. She was just so cheerful that it was rather infectious. It almost made me forgot that she slaughtered the rest of the White Fang forces in the premises and pulled down a freaking Bullhead all by herself.

Well anyway, we managed to foil the White Fang's robbery, seeing how they left without a single container. Well, with the cost of some of them. I hope the SDC doesn't mind losing a few dusts if it meant not giving their would-have-been robbers any.

 **=o=**

1\. _A derogatory term mostly used by faunus towards human-sympathizing faunus. The White Fang also tend to use this towards faunus who refuse to join or support their cause. While originally used by humans as a term for faunus slaves/servants, it's now used by faunus supremacists to label 'race traitors' of their own kind._

2\. _Torchwick was the one in charge of the Dust shop robbery that Ruby foiled on the night Headmaster Ozpin found her and recruited her into Beacon._

3\. _Commissars are elite Huntsmen of the United Councils' Commissariat. They are given special privileges and authorities by the United Councils Committee to act above the law under the strict condition that they are to be used to enforce their interests and uphold global stability._

* * *

An hour has passed. The first responders arrived and set up a perimeter. The cops and the paramedics took in the White Fang members. I just hope they don't mind wondering why all of them have almost empty pockets.

We were told to stay still and sit down because they still need us for questioning. We sat by silently, waiting for the authorities' next instructions. Blake was wearing her bow again and told Ruby everything. She also told all of us not to tell anyone about her previous association with the White Fang, as it might cause more unwanted trouble.

After a few minutes of waiting. A dark-skinned man in a suit and a light brown trench coat approached us, followed by two men in white dress shirts and black pants. "I'm Detective Shawn Huntley of the VPD." he introduced himself as he flashed his badge. "You can relax, none of you are in trouble. I just wanted to ask some questions regarding this incident. Are you willing to cooperate?"

We all silently nodded, the detective seemed pleased at our agreement. "Very well. First off, what made you go investigate the recent dust robberies and how did you manage to correctly find out that it was the White Fang and their next robbery would take place here?"

Blake's cat ears turned forward. "I… uh…"

I decided to intercede since fast-talking my way out of things was my expertise. "Let me handle this, Blake," I interjected before clearing my throat. "Earlier this day, she heard about the dust robbing spree and rumors that the White Fang could be involved. Sun here overheard that there was a freighter full of SDC dust containers arriving, we knew that if it was really the White Fang who was behind the robberies, then it would be their next target, especially since they have a deep hatred for the SDC. It turned out we were right." It was mostly true, all I did was left out Blake's membership with the White Fang and her personal matters with her team.

"I see." Detective Huntley cupped his chin. "I've been hearing reports that the wanted criminal—Roman Torchwick—was present at the scene. While it would make sense for him to be involved in the robbery, given his record of raiding dust shops. Why would he work alongside the White Fang, an organization known for hating humans to the extreme? And why would the White Fang allow him to work with them? It doesn't make any sense."

Blake spoke up, only this time, she had the confidence to answer. "We don't know exactly why, but I overheard him talking about an agreement with Adam Taurus."

"Adam Taurus?" the detective raised his brow. " _The_ Adam Taurus? The leader of the Vale Division of the White Fang, according to evidence? Wasn't he known for his anti-human sentiments? He must be really desperate enough to even agree to collaborate with what he would call a 'human scum'. This just keeps getting interesting…"

"You tell me." Blake murmured.

"Last question: Why exactly are you Huntsmen-in-training conducting an investigation involving the most serious and dangerous criminals known on the kingdom? You could have told the police. And while it's not uncommon for Huntsmen to fight non-Grimm threats, why take the risk? Last time I checked, you were trained to fight creatures of the Grimm and not terrorists and wanted criminals, unless you're also pursuing a career in bounty hunting. **[1]** Not that I don't admire your courage and determination, I'm just curious."

We all glanced at each other. I gave Blake a reassuring nod and spoke up. "Because… why shouldn't we? Who else might stop them if the police can't or won't? Our duty was to uphold peace to the kingdoms, whether if it meant fighting Grimm or criminals. Why should it matter if we were students? We trained hard enough to get ourselves into these academies; we knew it wasn't something we couldn't handle and we proved it." In reality, I knew the risks and we weren't supposed to try and stop the heist from taking place. When things got out of hand, I knew we needed to get out of there if we were to see another day. It was thanks to Penny's surprising skill that we managed to get out alive and even preventing the White Fang from getting any dust.

Detective Huntley hummed, though he was rather impressed at what I had to say. "Is that so? Well, I can see how you were able to get into Beacon. Though, if I were you, I would have left it to the professionals. That being said, we could use more people like you on the force. Not many people are willing to show this type of courage and dedication into nowadays. Keep this up and you'll be one of the greatest Huntsmen ever known." he then exhaled and wrote down a few notes on his pad. "It was nice speaking to you. Anyway, good job into preventing Torchwick and the White Fang for taking any dust, even if that meant destroying a few of the containers…"

Penny slightly giggled at that remark.

"It was better than to let them take at least one. Those containers of dust weren't something the SDC couldn't easily replace, at least the rest of the others were still intact and that's what matters. Now we know who was behind these robberies thanks to you. I admit we aren't exactly the most effective police force in the world, so I'm rather grateful for your contribution. Still, I advise you, kids, to stay in school. Seeing how you were able to fight off the perpetrators, I'd hate to see your potential go to waste."

"Yes, sir…" Ruby chimed as we all nodded.

"Good. I must be going. You're now free to leave if you please." he said before he left, the two other detectives still stood by.

"Hey, monkey boy." One of them called.

Sun gulped. "Yes…?"

"We still have our eye on you."

He nervously chuckled. "No problem, officers."

The detectives gave a death glare before they both made their exit. We all sighed in relief as we were now alone with ourselves.

"This is going to be one heck of a story to tell when I get back," Sun said.

And it surely won't be the last, unfortunately.

Weiss and Yang soon arrived. Ruby stood up and tried to reason with them as she steps in.

"Look, Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss just walked past her and confronted Blake. The two silently stared at each other for a few seconds before Blake spoke up.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the—"

"Stop!" Weiss interrupted. "Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" Everyone just nervously looked at the two as Weiss berates Blake. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in those twelve hours, I've decided..."

Blake just stood in shame as she waited for her to finish her sentence.

"…I don't care."

"You don't care?" she was surprised by her unexpected remark.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss inquired.

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger—"

"Ah-ba-ba-ba-bap! I don't want to hear it." Weiss hushed. "All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up…" she paused as Blake just stares at her. "…You'll come to your teammates. And not some..." she paused and looked at Sun and carefully reconsidered her words. "…Someone else."

Blake looked at her teammates and beamed and a wiped a tear offer her face "Of course."

Weiss was glad that they made up. Yang went near Blake and patted her on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, partner."

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheerfully raised your arms. Good to know that all of this team drama is finally over, for now, we had to go through this nonsense to earn it.

Weiss looked back on Sun. "You're the faunus from the ship a couple of days ago, am I correct?"

"Yeah… that would be me." Sun scratched the back of his head.

"I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" Weiss stated. Sun gave a nervous chuckle as a response.

"And Jaune..." she called, turning to me. "Thank you for looking after Blake, I guess."

"No problem. Just doing what a good friend would do." I said. I don't think I deserved that, though. I let myself get dragged here and only agreed to help because I felt guilty of letting Blake run away.

"And thanks for saving the shipment," Weiss added. "Now I don't have to hear my father flipping over this when I get home tomorrow."

"You're welcome. But I think that goes to Penny. If it weren't for her, the White Fang would have left with one or more of the containers." I said, deliberately leaving out the part where she destroys a pile of them for that to happen.

"Wait, Penny was here?" Weiss confusedly asked.

"Yeah, Penny…" I looked back and saw that she was suddenly nowhere to be found. "Where is she?"

"She was just here a minute ago," Ruby said, just as perplexed by her abrupt disappearance. For a cheerful-if-bizarre girl, it was strange for her to simply leave without telling us.

"So, you're telling me that the weird girl from earlier was responsible for saving the shipment belonging to my family's company?" Weiss skeptically said. "I find that hard to believe."

I don't blame her. That girl was pretty good at hiding what she had to offer. If anyone told me that she was some sort of powerhouse who could control multiple floating swords before witnessing it, I probably would think they have gone insane. What was she anyway? And how did Team RWBY even managed to find a girl like her?

"C'mon. Let's get outta here." Yang said. No objections to that. My team just started to get worried when I turned on my tracker.

With that, we all left the docks, Sun bids us farewell before we took the Bullhead back to Beacon.

 **=o=**

1\. _Huntsmen are mostly known for slaying Grimm by default, however, this does not mean they cannot partake in other combat activities. Huntsmen who received their license can sign up for special military duties, partake in mercenary work, or chose to be independent and do anything they please, so long as they respect the laws of the kingdoms._

* * *

I never thought I'd be relieved to see Beacon again. I know I have been through some crazy shit since the first time I stepped into this place, but discovering that one your allies was a former member of a terrorist group of pissed-off faunus, and getting you into fighting said group who for some reason teamed up with a crime lord that doesn't seem to like them, then seeing a young girl effortlessly kick all of their asses out of nowhere, takes the godsdamn cake. And I have a feeling that it won't end there. The second semester could offer even worse scenarios that it might even make this whole day look like a walk in the park in comparison.

After clearing this up to my team and taking a little rest, I was still bothered by the recent events. So I went to the dorm's rooftop to clear my mind. It was one of the only places in the academy outside my dorm where I truly feel peace; I never get tired of looking at the scenery it offers, especially during at night. I want to give one last look of its view before this semester ends.

I was just standing there, all alone, until I heard the voice of a certain faunus girl. "Hey."

I turned back to the rooftop's door and saw that there was no one there. I looked at the roof tiles above and saw Blake leaning near the roof window.

"Blake, what are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing." she answered before leaping off the roof. "I just like to sit on top of buildings sometimes."

Just like cats, huh?

"Anyway, I'm sorry for dragging you into all that. I know it was more trouble than you expected."

"You don't have to apologize to me for anything, Blake. I went with you at my own will because I wanted to help." I said, going close to her and putting an arm on her shoulder. "I couldn't just let you go, knowing how worried your team was for you."

Though if you asked me, I probably wouldn't have gone if I knew that a simple stakeout would turn out into an all-out brawl especially if it involved an organization that probably wants to kill me after what I did to them a few months ago, and I'm sure that they hate me more now.

"But still, you wouldn't be there if it wasn't for me." she responded, gently pulling my hand off her shoulder. "It was all my fault. My fear of everyone discovering who I am is what led us to that." she whimpered. "I should have just accepted that the White Fang wasn't that good from the start."

When I heard her, all that I was able to think of was my troubled self. With that, I did something that I thought I would never do: Be honest with my feelings. "You know, I was scared too."

She wept a tear and looked at me perplexed, none verbally asking me why.

"I was afraid that something might happen to you. That you may never come back. And that it would be my fault because I let this happen. I thought if I went and helped you, I didn't have to feel guilty about myself. You don't have to blame yourself for everything, you couldn't have known that it would get that bad. I was there by choice, I bought all of that to myself." I told her. I saw myself too much in her. We both were hiding something from our friends. We both wanted to escape something, and we both have our own doubts about ourselves. Sometimes we just don't know what people would think, so we had to go with what they're comfortable with.

She came closer and abruptly gave me a hug. "I never properly thanked you for being there with me." she kept hugging me for a before letting go. "I just couldn't blame you, Jaune. You were too nice. I just don't know how to repay you for your help."

"You don't have to repay me for me anything, I just did what friends are supposed to do, be there for you."

She smiled and looked at the night sky with me. It was quiet for a bit until she broke the silence.

"The White Fang is still out there..."

"They can't keep doing what they do forever," I replied. Organizations like that tend to die out soon enough.

"But as long as there's discrimination, there will always be the White Fang." she said. "They're not going to stop until they get what they want."

"That's just how things are, Blake. But that's why we're also here. To keep Remnant safe from people like them. After you've left the White Fang, you made the right choice to become a Huntress. You can finally fight for peace for real this time." I told her.

She was flattered by that statement. "I guess I could see why they called you a hero."

I looked down as I thought about that. "Sometimes, I don't know if I'm still worthy of being called that," I said honestly. Everything I did that seemed selfless was actually for my own benefit. If I were to keep to my team and allies together so they could keep saving my hind, then I had to uphold the reputation even if I'm ashamed of it.

"You definitely do," she said, smiling at me. "I should go. They're probably wondering where I am again. Thanks again, for everything."

"No problem, Blake. If there's anything you need, just let me know." I nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind." she chimed in. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

She leaned in and gave a peck on my cheek. **[1]** "Please don't be a stranger." she said as she was doing her best to restrain her blush.

I was astounded by her sudden action that I didn't notice her leave the rooftop. Did I deserve any of that? I thought as I held my cheek. Whatever it was, I guess I earned her affinity. Blake is a curious individual, I'm actually glad I have learned more about her other than being the shy, bookwormish type.

I spent another minute looking at the shattered moon once again before going back to my dorm as well.

So this is how I end my first semester…

 **=o=**

1\. _Thankfully, that was also their last kiss as far as I know._

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _As we conclude the accounts written for the first semester, I would like to add an excerpt by Headmaster Ozpin which was recorded during the same night. It details his conversation with Jaune's father, Caiaphas Arc. The following excerpt will provide some insights to Jaune's nature and character which he refuses to talk about, even in his private memoirs._

The Ozpin Logs: The Night Before The End of The First Semester.

While students at Huntsmen academies are considered to be much more special than an average civilian student, they're nonetheless still just normal children barely going through adulthood. This is why some of them express dislike in studying, preferring recreational activities that children their age enjoy. As a result, even the most skilled of Huntsman tend to have unimpressive grades. Although knowledge is powerful and important, it's nothing more than a tool to meet ends.

Jaune Arc for example, when he was at elementary, he graduated with a mix of B's and C's, rarely getting an A at all. After his first five months here, his grades are not exactly better, with an interesting exception. He managed to receive an A+ in combat training, something that even his eldest and brightest sister struggles to achieve in her first couple of years. Glynda was rather surprised by this, even if she was aware of what he was capable of, she was still surprised someone managed to earn a perfect grade on her subject when he struggles on all the other classes. This was not a case of 'might over mind', Mr. Arc has shown to have a way with words as much as he has a way of fighting. His charismatic leadership and tactical ability have played a role in his excellence in combat training. If anyone saw how he performs during her class, it's clear to see why he received such high grade. And by watching his recent exploit, he has certainly proved that he was the Huntsman we need.

Speaking of which, I was contacting his father to discuss his first semester here in Beacon.

"Caiaphas…"

"Ozpin…"

"Your son has been doing quite well. You were right when you said that he would remind me of you frequently. Just like you, he couldn't excel in a single class even if his life depended on it, except combat training of course."

"Heh, it's funny how history repeats. That's what I'm also worried about."

"There must be a reason behind his comportment. They cannot be explained by simple inheritance. Your daughters don't display the same type of fearfulness and self-doubt that he and your forefathers possess."

"I'm afraid I'm not in liberty to discuss that. There is a reason why he refuses to talk about it."

"Is it a family curse that affects only males by any chance?"

"Perhaps, but that would be too ridiculous. I would say that we were all unfortunate enough to have such similar demeanours. It's probably just coincidence, it's completely natural to be wary in a world full of demonic creatures that exist solely to destroy humanity."

"Some people would say that there are no coincidences."

"They just like to think that."

"You should be proud of your son, Caiaphas. He was able to accomplish more things than I anticipated. And as somebody who has been running this school for countless years, that is quite an achievement."

"I'm proud of him alright. What troubles me is that you would use him as an instrument for that glorified chess game of yours. Do I have to remind you that I left your inner-circle because I had a family to look after, especially with a son who doesn't exactly know what he wants in life?"

"I can reassure you that I won't send him in tasks that I know he cannot accomplish. If he doesn't want to attend in Beacon any longer, then I will not force him. Once the second semester begins, it will be one of the first questions I would ask of him."

"You better be sure. There is no doubt that he would be a great Huntsman, Ozpin. But I want to see him be more than that. I want him to live long enough to pass the family name to the next generation. He deserves to be something more than a pawn for a never-ending war."

"You can relax. If there is anyone who should be worried, it's Salem. Your son is more than just a mere pawn."

"I hope this isn't one of your chess metaphors again, oh so, Great & Powerful Ozpin. I still remember what happened to Summer."

"I have grown to be more considerate after that. Which is why I'm giving your son a choice. He won't be alone, Caiaphas. If he is not going to turn the tides of this war, then the people he inspired will. For now, we just need to see where this goes. Remember why you recommended him to me."

"I suppose there is a chance into setting things right once and for all. I do believe in him, after all. Just please, Ozpin. Make sure that he will be alright."

"With a boy like that? There is no reason for me not to."

The call ended. Shortly after, I received another message from Qrow, simply saying 'The Queen has Pawns.'

It appears that Salem has set up some competition. But as long as children like Rose, Nikos and Arc continue to remain at my side. She would have to do much more than threaten me into submitting.

Enjoy the power you still have while it lasts, Salem. For soon, the tables will turn.

* * *

 **Finally, the events following the first volume of the show are done. And yes I plan on writing 5 chapters per the show's volume. Which means that if I were to cover the first three volumes, then this story would have 15 chapters in total.**

 **Like it? Dislike it? Indifferent? Leave a review. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Don't worry I'm not going to cry like a baby and call you a prep. But if you're going to tell me why you don't like it, be sure to be constructive when doing so.**

 **Also, don't be afraid to point out some errors in the story. Things tend to get past my radar. Well, that's what I get for writing some parts of it on a phone late at night. A word of advice for those who plan to write their own story: Don't skim your own work when proofreading it. I learned this the hard way.**


	6. Food For Thought

_Editorial Note:_

 _The next extract of the Jaune Archive takes place two weeks after the previous one, during the start of the second semester. Notable entries taking place during the break will be included at the extras should someone be interested in them, but for now they will be skipped since they're not pertinent to Jaune's Beacon life._

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Food For Thought**

* * *

 _"The king is a good chap, but I can't help but notice that he is hiding something. It's almost as if he is involving us in something too elaborate to comprehend."_

 ** _-Captain Harry "The Flash" Arc, when asked about King Phadrig VII._**

When the second semester started, my feelings were ambivalent. I missed home, but I also started missing Beacon during the two-week break. Don't get me wrong—I still think it is a deranged place where my ass is perpetually at risk, but there was something that made me want to come back as if the place put a spell on me or something.

I was able to enjoy the simple and peaceful atmosphere of home and take advantage of the time I had. The only thing that bothered me was Dad and Rose were impressed at my performance on Beacon that they started dragging me to a few missions—and not the ones that involving killing a few low-class Grimm and going home like the ones I used to take, but the ones that involve killing whole entire nests and slaying freaking Alpha Beowolf. Thankfully, they were brief compared to the rest of my stay at home, only taking about twelve hours in total over two whole weeks.

I also got Rose to have my laser pistol upgraded. It was already useful before—now it is as twice as useful while weighing less and being able to hold more ammo. Rose may be crazy with guns, but she's the right type of crazy. She knows how to make guns look and feel effective in a world where aura would make these things look useless. It was thanks to her that I'm able to protect my own life with a simple yet very effective pistol using only one hand.

Still, I'm never going to forget that one time I was practicing with a rifle when I went hunting with her—I accidentally shot and killed a deer which was mothering a fawn at the time. Oops. (We were supposed to be hunting for food and maybe predators) That was when I decided to just stick with mimicking Dad's fighting style by using pistols while still being able to swing swords at the same time.

I immediately went to the residence hall after another nauseating flight on the airship. I'm never going to get used to that, am I? At least I bought a plastic bag this time, now I don't have to worry about throwing up on someone's shoes. But no matter how hard I try—I never seem to become habituated to air travel and ride without getting sick.

As I was heading to my dorm, I spotted Yang coming out of hers. She was already on her uniform. "Hey!" she waved after spotting me. "How's the ploy, Vomit-Boy?"

"Took some stocks, Goldilocks." I jokingly replied. I've been in Beacon long enough for me to start being much more open with my quips. It helps that I spent a fair amount of time these past two weeks going in missions with a sister of similar personality and appearance who could easily pass as a long-lost twin of her. Though I should still put them to a minimum if I were to continue acting nice.

She chuckled at my response. "It's good to see you again. Shh—shucks doesn't it feel good to back?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what this semester has in store for us." I said with all the enthusiasm I could muster.

"Oh, I forgot to thank you for helping out Blake when she ran away. I wouldn't know what to do without my partner, even if I didn't know much about her aside from being a ninja that likes to read weird books and all."

"It's not really a big deal," I said as modestly as I could. "Knowing her, she would have still been fine without me. It was Penny that saved the day."

"Then it must have been selfless of you to help out anyway," Yang said. "You really got 'hero' written all over you."

It appears that my compulsive desire to better my relationship with my allies to enforce my strategy is making my reputation as a so-called hero worse since I don't have a better alternative. "It's what I do, I guess. So how's she doing?"

"She's doing great. Still quiet as usual, but she's become much more open and friendly since what happened that day. If it weren't for that, I don't think we'd be chatting in our scrolls during the break. Heck, she's even getting along with Weiss!"

Good to hear. Weiss is not an easy girl to be friends with, especially if you happen to work for an organization that's targeting her family's company. Team RWBY seems to be getting along well with each other compared to the past few months. If they keep this up, I don't have to see them bicker over trivial things anymore.

"Has anyone seen my binder?" A voice belonging to a certain ice-cold heiress suddenly called from Team RWBY's dorm.

She smirked as she shook her head while still looking at me. "I gotta go. Catch ya' later, lady killer." Yang patted my shoulder as she passed through me.

"Peace out, girl scout," I replied, which she responded with a wave with her back turned.

I watched her leave before going to my team's dorm and opened the door while I prepared myself to get jumped by Nora since she does that sometimes last semester. Surprisingly, she didn't. Instead, she was sitting in her bed with Ren beside, behaving as if there was nothing for her to do.

"Welcome back, Fearless Leader!"

"Good to see all you again." I greeted as I dropped my bag at my bed.

"You're finally here," Pyrrha said as she the bathroom after tying up her hair. "So, what can you tell us about what you did this past couple of weeks?"

"Eh, the usual family stuff. Just helped with the farm and hunted down a few Grimm. Nothing out of the ordinary." I answered as I played with their expectations. Grimm hunts that involve clearing whole packs was just everyday work for some badass heroic Huntsman they paint me as. "How about you?"

"Ren and I stayed at Vale since we have nowhere else to go to," Nora responded. "This kingdom is prettier than I imagined!"

"Went to some dojos. It's was nice to just train and meditate while Nora does her own thing." Ren said.

"Yeah, I also spent the break training," Pyrrha responded. "My parents wanted to keep me sharp for the upcoming tournament. Speaking of which, they said that would be happy to see you, Jaune."

"Wait, me?" I was rather surprised by that, especially considering that Pyrrha came from a culture where might makes right. I really don't know what to feel when meeting the ones that trained her to become the invincible girl that everyone knew.

"You lead me and this team for months. They're curious into meeting the person who partnered with me in this academy."

"Maybe someday, Pyrrha, maybe someday." I chimed, earning her smile in return. I went back into facing everyone on the room. "Alright team, who's ready for the second semester?"

"I do!" Nora excitedly raised her hand. "And you too, Ren!" she raised his as well.

"Good!" I remarked. "Now remember what I taught you last semester. Everything then was only preparations for this semester, this is where things start to get real. We will soon start taking missions and participate in the tournament. If we continue working well as a team—then there is nothing that can get past us. We were able to kill a Nevermore, fight some bandits and get an A+ from Professor Goodwitch herself, so we know we could do this. Now, are you guys ready?"

Nora saluted while Ren firmly nodded. Pyrrha continues to gaze at me in approval.

"Then let's get to work," I said as I went to change to my uniform and led the team into the auditorium to hear the announcements for this semester.

* * *

Like I told my team before, last semester was just a preparation for this semester, so I really have to take things more seriously now that this is where everything I feared starts here. I wanted to make sure my team was prepared for the worse as well, and most importantly, keep me alive as usual.

One of the most noticeable differences from this semester from the previous one is that the exchange students from the other kingdom's top Huntsman academies had arrived on Beacon for the Vytal Festival. Atlas has students wearing white uniforms, while Haven students from Mistral wore black. Apparently, Shade students don't seem to have uniforms probably because of how hot Vacuo is. The student body here also became much more colorful than the first day when I remembered everyone mostly being a bunch of faceless nobodies.

Aside from the extra emphasis on combat training, missions and the tournament, there will also be an upcoming dance this Sunday. All that was needed was a formal attire and optionally—a partner, if you can get one, that is.

After the announcements for the activities for this semester where everyone along with exchange students was gathered, we were told that there won't be any classes until tomorrow and recess immediately began. The students at Beacon went to the cafeteria to get their lunch while the exchange students were given time to unpack and explore the academy.

One of the best things about going home was that I'm able to drink tanna again. I was able to bring a whole pack of tanna teabags with me so I can drink it anytime while I'm at Beacon. I bought a teapot full of it to the cafeteria as I took my lunch.

I poured some of it at my cup. I was at bliss after taking a single sip. I never get tired of drinking this—its unique taste is what sets this off from other drinks that it cannot be emulated. I have to thank Uncle Fergen **[1]** for introducing the drink to my Dad, if it weren't for him I would have never experienced drinking any of this, especially of how rare it is outside Morosco.

Ren saw me enjoy my drink and notices that it was not your average tea. "Jaune, would you mind if I take a sample of the tea you are having?"

"Of course. Knock yourself out."

He took the teapot and poured a fraction of it to an empty cup before taking a sip. It took a few seconds for him to process the taste as he made a hum after doing so.

"So, what do you think?" I asked.

"I'm only able to describe it as 'peculiar' at the moment." he said in naturally neutral tone before taking another sip. "What type of tea is this even?"

"It's tanna. I don't blame you if you never heard of it."

"Oh, that. Being somewhat of a tea connoisseur myself, I actually heard of it—I just never got the chance of seeing it in the flesh, let alone taste it. I heard of how distinctive the flavor is, now I see why."

"That's what makes it interesting," I said before giving mine another sip. "I can still remember my first time tasting it and not being sure about what to think."

"That sounds neat! Can I try one?" Nora asked after finishing her sixth pancake under a minute.

"Sure. You might not like it though, the taste sorta depends on the person."

"Oh please, it's just tea! How bad can it be?" she said as she pours her cup and took a sip, after that she froze while her pupils contracted.

"Uhh, Nora. Are you alright?" I said as I wave my hand in front of her.

"I believed… I have discovered… the secrets of the universe." she said before I snapped at her face, waking her up as she shook her head. "I mean… it's a little bitter but it's okay, I guess."

"I'm curious on what makes this drink intriguing. Can I try too?" Pyrrha asked.

"Go ahead." I granted as I gave her a filled cup.

She took a sip and took a few seconds to describe its taste. "Well, you're right about it being distinctive," she remarked before taking another sip. "It's certainly something."

"You'll get used to it. I won't force you if you can't though." While it's a drink that I cannot stop drinking myself, you could say it was literally not everyone's cup of tea.

I finished my cup and poured another one. Ren said he was going to fetch an order of his and that he will come back. Suddenly two girls approached me, one of them having a short purple hair and was wearing a denim vest, and the other has long dirty blonde hair and was wearing a light green sundress.

"Uh, hello there!" the purple haired one said, while her companion just nervously waved as she blushed.

"Why, hello. May I help you with something?" I greeted as gentlemanly as I could. Gotta put that Arc charisma to good use.

"Oh nothing, not at all!" she responded. "It's just great to finally meet you in the flesh. Jaune Arc, was it?"

It appears I'm still relevant. As much as I'm still embarrassed by it, I find its ability to attract some fine ladies to be favorable. "Yep. At your service." I nodded.

"Oh man, this is awesome!" she audibly muttered to herself before squealing. "Sorry, my name is Nebula, and this is my partner, Dew," she said as she gestured to her. "Dew, say hi."

"H-hi." the red-faced blonde shyly greeted.

"Come on, you can do better than that. Where's the tough gal inside you?"

"I just wanted to say… you're pretty great... that's all." Dew stuttered.

"That's a little better. Sorry, she wasn't always like this. She's just nervous around cute boys."

"Nebula! You were gawking at him too, you know!" Dew retorted.

Nebula's face started to match her partner in terms of redness as she began to chuckle. "It's just that you were so amazing that you beat El Segador. You see we live in Vacuo and we been hearing scary stories about that guy and heard how many people he killed and the lives he ruined. So when we heard that he was no more, we were amazed that you were able to defeat a monster like him. How did you do it?"

"I just did what I had to do. Who else was able to stop him then?" I said, technically speaking the truth. I never even knew who he was before it went viral, and if I did, I would have run a lot harder then.

"Wow. You're so brave…" Nebula purred as she and Dew started to stare at me long enough to notice my partner that they slowly turned to her. "Hey, you're the four-time Mistrali champion—Pyrrha Nikos, am I right?"

"Yes, that's me," Pyrrha nodded as I noticed her shift to her composed expression for half a second.

"You're pretty cool too!" she complimented before glancing at me "…and lucky even. You get to be famous and be partners with him. Man, we are so jealous."

"Why, thank you."

"You're an inspiration for all of us," Dew added. "We're doing our best for the tournament because of you."

"You're participating in the tournament too?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yeah can't wait to see both of you fight and maybe even challenge you!" Nebula replied. "But of course, we'll just lose if that happens. Because let's be honest, who could take on The Slayer of The Killer Mariachi and The Invisible Girl herself."

"Don't worry. I think you'll do nicely. The tournament is about having fun and proving yourself at what you can do, it's just a friendly competition between the kingdoms." I said, smiling at them.

"I suppose you're right. We're not here to win anything anyway." She brightened up. "We should go. It was nice talking to you!"

I stared at the duo as they left while they were both audibly giggling. I turned to Pyrrha who was frowning at me. **[2]** "What?" I asked.

"I think she's jelly~" Nora sang while whispering to me.

"Nora!" Pyrrha suddenly yelled, which startled me.

We decided not to talk about it and went back into enjoying our respective meals. I looked at Team RWBY who were sitting in the table in front of us. Nora was tossing grapes and berries at Yang as she catches them with her mouth. Blake was still wearing her bow and I'm kind of irritated by that, to be honest. She doesn't have a reason to hide it anymore—I doubt that people would even care especially that they're already familiar with her enough that nobody would care that she's a faunus—aside from a few assholes, but that's just how they are and almost no one sympathizes with them. Besides, she already looked like a cat with that bow. It felt like she learned nothing that day.

Ruby was discussing with their activities for this semester. Was it just me or does Ruby sound a little different? Don't get me wrong, she always has a high pitched voice, but something tells me that she sounded squeakier than I remembered.

"What are you talking about?" Blake inquired.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" she answered.

Her sister then spoke up. "I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang_!"

No, just no. Not even by her standards, and her standards are already lower than hell itself.

Nora understandably groaned and threw an apple at her. "Bad Yang! No more grapes for you." The apple her face and Nora earned her ire.

I watch in amusement as I poured my cup with the last remaining contents of the kettle. "Ruby and her team look like they're about to have some fun."

"Speaking of which, do you have anything planned for us for today?" Pyrrha inquired.

I took a sip in my cup. "Not really. But if you want to, then we could—" I was then interrupted when an apple abruptly flew in and smashed my cup to pieces.

I froze in denial as I stare at the shattered remains of the cup while tanna spills out. I didn't have to turn my head to know that it was from Yang. I just sat there in grief, lamenting on my wasted cup. My sorrow soon turned into rage as I started gripping my hands. Nobody messes with my tanna—that drink comforted me in a dark period of my life and I'll be damned if anyone desecrates this amazing drink and gets away with it.

"Oh no! Yang just broke Jauney's tea!" exclaimed Nora. "Don't worry, Fearless Leader. I'll avenge your tea!"

"Do it then." I gave my approval in a voice mixed with grief and fury. My mind was filled with fury that there was barely room for any logic and reason for the moment.

"Oh goody." Ren came back to our table holding a pie. He had an eager look with him which was a rare sight to see even as a teammate. Still, he has his moments.

"Ren, can I have some of that?" Nora asked.

Ren gave the pie to Nora. "Sure just don't—." before she was able to let him finish, Nora threw the pie towards Yang. Unfortunately, she's wasn't good at aiming it, so it ended up landing on Weiss' face instead. "—eat most of it…"

My narrowed eyes widened as I was alarmed by Nora's blunder while my team looked with shock expressions. Ren, meanwhile, only expressed mere disappointment. "I just… wanted to… eat some pie."

"Grrr, you'll pay for that!" Weiss yelled. She grabbed an nearby apple and threw it at Nora. Nora ducked, causing the apple to hit a random passerby behind her. That person fell to the floor, dropping his tray and have his hot soup spill over him as he screams in agony.

"Food fight!" A random person stood from his chair and shouted. Suddenly the entire mess hall erupted into chaos. Food and drinks was flying everywhere. Some fought in groups while others fought for themselves, attacking even their own friends and teammates. It was a free-for-all.

I hunkered down below my table as the mayhem escalates by the second. Normally, I would try to diffuse the situation or get away from this madness, but I was still hung over by the destruction of my precious drink and I wasn't going anywhere until it was avenged.

Feeling somewhat enraged, I got out of the table and saw the battle occur. Tables were scattered and food was sticking out everywhere. I was barely able to see anything other than the barely distinct uniformed figures throwing food at one another.

I managed to dodge an incoming orange that was thrown at me from the side. I got up and saw the person responsible holding more oranges as he attempted to hurl another one at me. After avoiding it, I grabbed the nearest tray and swung the next orange and deflected it to his stomach. He drop all of his oranges as he fell to the ground.

"Jaune! Over here!" Pyrrha called over, making me turn near the edge of the mess hall and saw a fortress made out of tables and vending machines by my own team. I was impressed that they are able to make something like this. It's my team, they have yet to let me down, so why should I expect anything less from them?

I rushed toward my team's bastion, using the tray as a shield to protect me from raining projectiles of food while my teammates provide covering fire. I managed to make my way there and stood on one of the vending machines at the fort.

"Good to finally have you with us, Fearless Leader!" Nora saluted on the top.

"Likewise." I returned the compliment. I looked around and saw that many students were now retreating toward the exit, while some others continued to fight. "Keep going! You guys are doing great." I ordered as we continue to throw our food from the fort.

While watching the mayhem transpire, I spotted a girl throw a can of grape soda at someone before it splat open. At that moment, I felt the coin drop. "Pyrrha get as many soda cans as you can," I commanded.

"I'm on it." She then used her semblance to attract as many soda cans near our fortress, including the ones inside the vending machines.

"Hey, Arc!" I turned around and quickly leaned away from a slice of pizza (with those Godsforsaken pineapples) coming from Russel Thrush. "Team CRDL would like to send their regards!"

I rolled my eyes at this. I almost forgot about those idiots since they rarely messed with me for this past couple of months. I picked up one of the cans, shook it and sprayed it all on Russel before throwing it at his face and knocking him to the floor. "Save them for another time!"

Nora gave out an evil laugh before singing her signature song. "I'm queen of the castle~! I'm queen of the castle~!" At that point, we successfully managed to drive everyone out from the mess hall—except for Team RWBY, who was still standing strong.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" Ruby crushed a small box of milk with her hand. "It will be delicious!" she cried with her teammates joining her.

Damn right, but I'll be the one who'll be serving justice around here. It was now time for me to initiate my plan to exact revenge. "Hey Nora, you know what I just realized?"

"What?" She turned to me and asked.

"Team Deathmatch," I answered.

"Team Deathmatch?"

"Team Deathmatch!" Ruby echoed after hearing us.

Her ice-queen of a partner gave a puzzled look. "Team Deathmatch?"

"Team Deathmatch!" Yang pumped her fist.

Pyrrha turned to me confusedly. "Team… Deathmatch?"

"Team Deathmatch," I repeated nonchalantly to her.

"Team Deathmatch…" Ren half-heartedly joined in.

Nora's face brightened up as she bounced. "Team Deathmatch!"

"Team Deathmatch!" Ruby shouted again.

Blake groaned but decided to play along. "Team Deathmatch."

"Team Deathmatch~!" Yang sang, leaning toward her partner.

Distract the opposition. Check. Now it was time to make the cafeteria colorful. I nodded to Pyrrha, signaling her to use her polarity to shake the soda cans near us before sending them on the top center of the mess hall.

"Team Deathmatch!" Ruby shouted for the last time.

"Enough! We get it already!" Weiss shouted. "Now why don't we just get this over with before—?" she then noticed a large shadow hover over them before looking up as they saw a mass of soda cans floating in the middle of the mess hall.

"Quick, get in under the tables!" Ruby ordered her team, which they did.

"Now!" I signaled. Pyrrha let go of the cans. They fell almost simultaneously as they smashed open with their substance, summoning a colorful haze around the cafeteria.

"What's our next step?" Ren inquired.

"We charge." I rallied my team to the offensive as we got off our fortress, using the colored vapor as a substitute for a smoke screen.

"Hey, this smells good!" Nora remarked as she passes through the haze of soda.

"Focus, Nora!" I told her.

"Right!" she said before leaping and grabbing a rod and using it as a handle for an improvised hammer and stuck it into a watermelon.

Ren rolled into a table and took two celeries as his choice of weapons. Pyrrha grabbed two baguettes and tossed one to me while I went and picked up a bottle of ketchup on the way.

"Attack!" Ruby commanded after they crawled out from the tables. They were having a little trouble seeing through the haze, not to mention getting distracted by the smell. They were still able to spot us and we engaged in combat. I faced off Yang; Pyrrha was against Weiss; while Ren and Nora double-teamed on Blake, who was doing her best to hold them both back. Ruby was nowhere to be seen and I was too occupied to even bother looking for her, the haze that I just caused did not help.

Yang rolled out and shoved two turkeys in her hands. "You want me, Vomit-Boy? Bring it on!"

She then lunged at me. I proceeded to do my best to dodge every punch coming from her. I have a few strategies prepared against Yang, along with the rest of her team—in case we were to face them. It was best not to invoke her semblance yet as the best course of strategy was to take advantage of her aggression until she tires out and make herself more vulnerable.

She was getting annoyed by this that she decided to taunt me. "What's the matter, afraid to hit a pretty girl?"

Maybe. But shooting one might be a different story. After I continued to avoid a few more punches, I sprung back and fired a blast of ketchup onto her face, knowing it was too soft to count as a hit.

"Hey! You sprayed some ketchup on my hair!" she yelled after wiping her face.

"You smashed my tea." I retorted.

"That's what you're upset about?!"

"I could say the same thing to you."

"Why you little…" she ran back toward me and tried to punch me again. She was getting too fast that I was getting tired of dodging while it gets increasingly difficult to do so. Alas, I eventually got hit by the last two jabs, knocking me back to the ground.

"This ends here…" she warmed up her upcoming attacks.

I was still recovering and was desperate enough to go through, so I did my best to loudly mimic the sound of a sloth. "Qraa! Qraa!"

Yang paused in bewilderment. "What are you doi—?" Nora then came in after hearing my signal and swung her away mid-sentence, sending her flying away until she crashed into a wall.

"Thanks, Nora!"

"Anytime, Fearless Leader!" she saluted before deflecting some fruits being thrown at her. She dashed back to Weiss who fought her with a swordfish as a substitute for a rapier.

I looked at Yang resting on a crater. I saw her eyes turn to red and her hair began to glow as she angrily stared at me back. "You're going to fucking regret that!"

Oh brother. Every time I tried to prepare myself against her, I feared that this would happen. Yang only swore when her semblance was active as if her eyes and furious tone didn't make that obvious enough. I was in for a world of pain.

I took a tray and prepared to brace myself for the worst as she started running towards me. She was suddenly pushed away by a wave of soda cans. Pyrrha jumped in and threw a baguette at her before quickly turning to me. "I'll handle her. You go help Ren and Nora!" she picked up another baguette and went to do battle with Yang.

I went to Ren and Nora, who were fighting Blake and Weiss respectively. Ren and Blake were fighting acrobatically, with Ren at one point threw some carrots at Blake while in midair—as if they were throwing knives, which she deflected with her two baguettes. Nora was meanwhile whirling her 'hammer' as she parries Weiss' attacks. Suddenly, Ruby came in, surfing on a tray, she then leaped to Nora and swung said tray at her, staggering her before Weiss gave one last thrust of her swordfish with a black glyph behind Nora, making her fly away to the wall.

"Nora!" Ren exclaimed, giving Blake the opportunity to strike him down.

After finally putting the dynamic duo out of commission, Weiss and Blake turned their attention toward me.

"Checkmate!" Ruby shouted while pointing at me as she stood on a table.

"Oh, nuts." I muttered to myself. Fighting with one of Team RWBY was one thing. Fighting two or more of them at the same time was another and the thought alone haunts me.

Blake went toward me first. I blasted a bottle of ketchup towards her only for it to fly past through her, identifying it as a shadow clone. I quickly swung my baguette at my back, deflecting a strike coming from the real Blake who attempted to flank me. After locking breads for a second, I pushed her back before clashing our trading blows with our baguettes. In the middle of it—I noticed Weiss charging while pointing her blade at me. I turned around and pointed my bottle at Blake and sprayed at her as she blocked them with her both of her baguettes while I swung mine at Weiss' swordfish.

I went to parry all of Weiss' attacks until she was able to slice my weapon in half. I threw the half I was holding at her face then spun around while squeezing my bottle, spraying the last batch of it around my surroundings, hitting them both with it. Then, I threw the ketchup bottle at Blake's face and swiped one of her baguettes while she was off-balance. I swung a flurry of quick slashes at Weiss, overwhelming her and giving me the chance to strike her down with her defenses going kaput. I turned back and did the same to Blake, which was much easier since her defenses were much weaker in one-handed melee.

After finally defeating the monochrome duo by some merciful miracle. I panted for a brief moment. Looking back towards Pyrrha and Yang, who both were still in the middle on the duel between the power-houses. Yang was obviously growing exhausted from the fight, but after a quick glance to her fallen partners, she was visibly enraged and gave a punch powerful enough to knock Pyrrha back to the tables.

"Jaauuuneee!" Yang yelled furiously. As she started to dash toward me. I hastily picked up the nearest tray and barely blocked her strike as she pushing me on top of the floor.

She picked up the metal tray and breaks it in half with her bare hands. I crawled back as I throw every projectile I come across towards her—which she just shoves off. She was panting hard as she walks slowly towards me before suddenly a pie flew in and hit her face.

It was something Nora tried to do before the whole thing started, so it was good enough for me.

I turned around and saw Pyrrha puffing, mostly out of fatigue from the fight and the amount of usage of her semblance. "It's all up to you now." she said before buckling down the floor.

Well, there goes my backup. While Pyrrha was not the type to give in—she used all of her remaining willpower so I could go forward that she needed to rest; I wasn't going to let that go in vain.

"I guess it's just me and you now then!" Ruby said. I turned around and saw my last opponent standing on the top of our fortress. Talk about Red Alert.

"I'm impressed that you managed to defeat my sisters-in-arms, Jaune. But can you handle the wind?" I've seen Ruby fight and even have some tactics against her from early-planning before but I was not anticipating what I was about to bear witness.

She used her semblance to dash off the tower and created a slipstream that threw a hailstorm of food and projectiles at me. Grabbing a ham by its drumstick and infusing my aura with it—I deflected the incoming projectiles coming toward me. I stomped at the nearest tray then grabbed it to use it as a shield to block off the fruits. Before proceeding, I took one of the flying soda cans from the air and drank it. **[3]**

Ruby landed and picked up the food around her and hurled it all at me. I jumped out of the way and picked up a bottle of ketchup and mustard and fired them both at Ruby, who blocked both of them with two plates before throwing them away. She used her semblance to create a wind strong enough to send me flying toward a wall. She then flung all assortment of fruits toward me. I rolled out and got back on the floor before throwing some the fruits on the ground at her. She started using her semblance yet again. As I avoided the food coming from the storm, I picked up my weapons and threw one last apple at her while she was dashing with her speed, breaking her momentum. She was knocked to her side after getting hit but she recovered quickly as she slides down the floor.

I stormed towards her, she tried to stop me by flinging more food toward me, which I just deflected as I make my way through. When I got next to her, there was barely a fight. As much of a remarkable fighter Ruby is—she was inept at fighting without her scythe, so it was pretty much over after that. After knocking her to the floor, I pointed my ketchup bottle at her.

"Justice has been served…" I quipped.

"Do what you must." She over-dramatically played along, closing her eyes as she accepted defeat.

I looked at her in pity before squeezing my bottle and sent the final blast that'll end this war… by deliberately missing and shooting at the floor near the side of her face.

She opened her eyes and was puzzled at my decision to not finish her off. I dropped both of my weapons and offered my hand. Kinda reminding me of the first day when I found her lying down on the courtyard after that explosion she caused.

She gladly accepted my offer as I help her pull her up. The others were getting up as well, dusting themselves off while still covered in food particles. No one was seriously hurt thanks to the miracle of aura.

"Well, that was fun. You guys fought great." It was actually fun to test my team in a unique way while seeing if we could take on our sister team.

"You guys did great too. Fighting you had been the most fun. We should spar more often." Ruby said.

No thanks, Team RWBY was frightening enough fighting against with food alone, I should be thankful that I'm on their side on serious situations, and I still can't believe I just won. "Just defending the queen's honor. Isn't that right, Nora?"

"Correct, my trusty subject—or should I say, Fearless Leader."

"Also, you should tell your sister to be more careful with my tea. I don't get to drink it much these days."

"Not a problem!" Ruby chimed in before making a suspicious grin with both of her hands at her back. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What is it?"

She then mashed a pie at my face before I was able to notice it. "I finally got you!" she laughed as I removed the pie from my face. I was initially annoyed before laughing it off with her, pleasantly enjoying the time we just had.

"Thanks, Jaune, for helping set up this day to be the best day ever."

"Your welcome," I said, wiping the pie off my face.

She smiled at me before she started to look fearful after looking at the figure behind my back. I turned around and almost made a feminine screech after seeing the face of an unamused Miss Goodwitch.

She growled angrily at me, and I was only able to respond with a whimper. She turned her attention towards the room and used her telekinesis to arrange the tables and chairs back to their original position within seconds. The mess hall was not fully clean yet, there was still plenty of food and trash scattered across the floor and on the walls, not to mention, a few craters.

Miss Goodwitch then turned to us all. "Children, do not play with your food. You're supposed to be the defenders of the world, so I insist you all act like it." she scolded us while keeping her professional tone. She then levitated a few brooms, buckets and mops and gave them all to us. "You are not to leave until this room is tidied up. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." We all ashamedly complied together.

When then proceeded to begin cleaning our own mess. It was a rather huge mess hall so it took a while. On the bright side, we didn't have to pay for the damages, like the broken plates and the wasted food.

Lesson of the day: Never mess with a man's tea… and also Yang's puns are really fucking dangerous.

Kids in Vacuo could have eaten these.

 **=o=**

1\. _Fergen Gustav is a close friend and accomplice of Caiaphas Arc. While not biologically related to the Arcs in any way, he had received the title of an honorary uncle to the Arc children because of his loyalty to their father._

2\. _A reoccurring feeling I also possess when reading through certain interactions in Jaune's writings._

3\. _No such thing happened. I do recall him getting hit by a can on the face, however._

* * *

Once we were finally done with cleaning the messy mess of a mess hall, we all went to clean ourselves and put on our usual clothes. Thankfully, we had extra school uniforms for us to wear tomorrow while the current ones were still in the laundry.

We decided to hang out at the library. Team RWBY was playing the game of Remnant, a board game that has players assume the role of a conqueror, representing each one of the four kingdoms as they compete for world domination while using the Grimm for whatever reason. If you think about it—the player characters in that game are a bunch of power-hungry warmongers who uses the very creatures that cause most of the problems of the world to achieve as their subjects to take over Remnant. It's really that dark. At least in reality, no one in the four kingdoms was dumb enough to think that Grimm would be a practical military asset, since the last time someone tried to use the Grimm on their side, it didn't end well.

Meanwhile, we were at another table not far from theirs, reading on what we could get our hands on. Pyrrha suggested we started studying in advance, especially since this semester was said to be harder than the last, and while Team JNPR did get the most impressive grade in combat training, Nora and I still needed to improve our theoretical studies, so she took away my comic-books and gave me a textbook titled 'The Fundamentals of Dust: Second Edition'. Making a grunt in frustration that I had to deal with my worst subject this early. Nora had already fallen asleep after the first few minutes, and this is all while Team RWBY looked like they were having a blast.

"Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!" Yang said after giving a sinister laugh, making her sister shriek. "Giant Nevermore!" she slammed a card on her table. "If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"

"But, if you roll a six or lower—the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!" Ruby retorted.

"That's just a chance I'm willing to take," Yang said.

By the looks of it, Weiss just stared at her cards, not knowing what to know nor did she know what was exactly going on, while Blake was occupied with her book to even bother playing.

Yang rolled the dice, and by the sounds of it, it rolled in her favor.

"NOOOO! My precious soldiers!" Ruby screamed in defeat.

Nora's groaned and got up. "Role-players!" she scoffed at them before returning to her nap, and this is coming from someone who proclaimed herself as a queen of a castle earlier and has a wardrobe of costumes for some reason that I don't want to know.

I sniggered as I go back to reading my textbook, or at least, pretending to read. I have no clue what I'm reading about without Pyrrha tutoring me. I realized that in order to understand the contents of this book—you must have knowledge from Dust Basics, so if I were to learn anything from this, I must refer to my textbook last semester.

"I'll be back. Just going to fetch some books at the dorm." I stood up and left. While heading there, I took a minute to eavesdrop on Team RWBY as they were playing their game. It was Weiss' turn and she had no idea how to play, so Yang went out of her way to help her out.

"…And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Yang instructed, "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war." she said before going back to her seat.

Weiss reviewed her cards. "And that means..."

"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Ruby said.

Weiss paused for a moment before standing up and gave an evil laugh then went over on an over-the top-speech. "Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms—!"

"Trap card..."

"Huh?"

"Your armies have been destroyed," Yang stated as she moves the pieces on the board.

"I hate these games of emotions we play!" Weiss sobbed as she returns to her seat.

"Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!" Ruby said, hugging her partner.

"Shut up! Don't touch me."

Wow, Nora was right about this team being full of role-players, barring Blake, of course, assuming her books aren't giving her any ideas.

"Maybe you should start appeasing the RNG **[1]** then, Ice Queen." Yang advised.

I chuckled at the group before going back to leaving the library. Before I was able to go any further, however, I saw Sun and some pretty boy with blue hair and goggles on his forehead wearing a white shirt and tie underneath a red coat coming. My mind then pretty much decided that I would have to study dust fundamentals another time.

"Jaune, my man!" Sun greeted. I turned back and tried to walk away, but he was able to pull me and put an arm over my shoulders. "It's good to see you again. How's it hanging?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you for asking," I said.

"So this is the guy you keep talking about." His friend stated. "I'm Neptune, nice to meet you. No offense, but I pictured you to be a bit more... Alpha-looking, I think?"

Excuse me, what?

"Hey, Sun!" Ruby greeted.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake…" he then turned to Weiss. "Ice Queen."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

Because you keep acting like one?

"It's really awesome that we get to be temporarily transferred to your school. Now, we can hang-out more! This is going to be an epic year, I can tell." he said before gesturing to his companion "Anyway, never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend."

"Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?" Neptune reminded as he looked at Team RWBY's table.

"Thank you!" Ren exclaimed.

"Pancakes!" Nora followed.

Made me wonder why no one was telling us to be quiet, especially with Team RWBY's board game session.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun playfully sneered.

"Ga-ga-gah! 'Intellectual', okay? Thank you." he corrected. "I'm Neptune. Neptune Vasillias."

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked with brow-raising interest.

"Haven." he answered as he walks toward her. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, Snow Angel."

"Um, I'm Weiss." she said without a single semblance of her typical infuriation.

Oh, so it's okay when he calls you that. Didn't know it took blue hair and boyband-esque douchiness to have the privilege of calling her with a dumb nickname without earning her ire. **[2]**

"Pleasure to meet you." he complimented.

I rolled my eyes at the display of cheesy high-school romance in bloom as shifted my attention towards Sun and Blake.

"I never took you as the board game playing type," Sun commented.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually." she said, standing up. "I'll see you guys later." And just like that, she immediately walked away without another word in typical Blake fashion.

We all look at her leave us in bewilderment until Nora broke the silence.

"Women." Nora shrugged.

"What's with her? I thought she brightened up after that night." Said a puzzled Sun.

"Honestly, I was asking the same thing," I replied, scanning the room to see she was already gone. What was really bothering her?

Sun looked at my team's table. "So… these are your teammates, am I right?"

"Yep. That's Team JNPR. There's Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora." I said as I gesture each teammate from left-to-right.

"Wait, Pyrrha? As in Pyrrha Nikos?!" Sun cried excitedly. "The four-time champion of the Mistral Regionals?"

"That's right." she nodded.

"Holy crap, it's an honor meet you!" Sun rested his hands at the table. "Folks at Haven talk about you a lot."

"So I've heard." Pyrrha fixed her bangs.

"Man, you were so cool when you beat that Mammoth guy. They say that no could beat him but we believed in you."

"Yeah, that was a fun match."

"Jaune, you're one lucky bastard to have her as a teammate." he told me.

"I get that a lot," I replied.

We chatted for a while. Neptune filled Blake's spot at the board game and apparently had dominated everyone at the game and was declared as the ruler of Remnant, much to Yang's annoyance.

We dispersed with the duo after leaving the library. As me, my team and Team RW_Y were heading towards our respective dorms when Miss Goodwitch's voice suddenly called, putting all seven of us to a halt.

"Mr. Arc."

"Yes, professor?" I asked, turning to her rather nervously.

"Headmaster Ozpin would like to have a word with you."

Was this about the food fight at the mess hall? I thought. "Am I in trouble, ma'am?"

"I cannot say I know for sure, he only instructed me to summon you. You will have to find that out yourself." she answered.

I gulped before complying. "Okay then, lead the way."

"Good. The rest of you can move along now." she said to the others before accompanying me to the interview room. While I was making my way there, all I could wonder was 'What does Ozpin want from me this time?'

 **=o=**

1\. _Random Number Generator (occasionally nicknamed as the 'Random Numbers God'), a term used in gaming (whether digital or tabletop) that refers to the system that factors the player's odds and luck. Also used as an alternative term for dices._

2\. _I was actually annoyed when he called me that, but it was a time when I didn't want to spoil his interest of me._

* * *

I entered the dimly lit room, consisting only a window and a single table with a chair at each side, giving off an impression of a dark interrogation room—not really a place you want to be in.

"Sit here and wait for the headmaster," she instructed, gesturing toward the chair beside the window. "Stay until you are told to otherwise," she stated before making her leave.

I sat and waited for a few minutes for Ozpin to arrive. I tapped my fingers at the table in anxious anticipation, fearing at what he has to say. Like the first time I visited this room, it felt like going to the dentist. It's not every day that you get to talk to the Great & Powerful Ozpin; usually, the other professors handle the guidance counseling.

The door opened, revealing him as he walked toward me. "Ah, good to see you are finally here, Mr. Arc." he went and took a seat. "I have been looking forward to this conversation for a while now."

"Why is that, Headmaster?" I asked politely.

"You will find out." he said with a suspicious grin. "I see you are making yourself comfortable around here."

"It's a place I'll be staying for a few more years, why shouldn't I?"

"That is good. A student's well-being is very important. Without it, they would lack the morale to fight the Grimm." he remarked before taking a sip of his drink. "You have been a lot impressive with your performance last semester. Of course, your theoretical abilities needs improvement, however, its combat training is what all that matters since that is primarily the reason why this academy exists, and it remains applicable to a Huntsman's career. But then again, why should I expect less from an Arc?" he asked theoretically.

"Just doing my responsibility as a Huntsman-in-training," I responded modestly as I nodded. "Though, I admit that I am still working on improving myself on other subjects."

"Now, remind me again. What made you choose to follow the path of a Huntsman?"

I was railroaded to it, that's what. "So I can fulfill my family's legacy and help those who can't help themselves. Be a hero like in the stories, and make the world a better place to live in." I lied as the best as I could, keeping a straight face, eye-contact, and in the right tone. But despite that, he doesn't seem to be convinced.

"That is a plausible, if somewhat of a commonplace answer. Your father told me the exact same answer when I asked him that question when he was your age. Not that I blame any of you. After all, Huntsmen should be aware that they are fighting for the world."

"What can I say? We're known for our altruism. I think it's destiny for us to help people."

He hummed. "Do you believe in destiny, Mr. Arc?"

I pondered at that question. "I don't really know. It's just that sometimes I think that some things were meant to happen." I answered.

"I can see what you are trying to convey. Fate works in mysterious ways, should such a thing happen to exist. But tell me, are you doing this because you genuinely believe in your family values, or is it because that destiny told you to?" he asked as he takes a sip of his drink.

"I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do. Yes, it's becoming a bit of a family tradition—but I've wanted to be a hero since I was a child, and it's my chance to prove myself worthy."

He slammed his mug at the desk after he was done drinking. "Are really you sure about that?" he asked in an alarmingly inquisitive tone. "I want to say I believe you, as you are giving answers with the heart of a true Huntsman, but I am afraid that you are not being truthful with me."

I was shocked by his sudden disbelief, albeit I made sure to display that as subtly as possible. "Headmaster, I don't exactly get how I was being untruthful. I answered as sincerely as I could."

He shut his eyes and shook his head. "Mr. Arc. You have an impressive amount of guile that it is even beneficial for your performance in the academy, but it's neither going to help you or me in this conversation."

"I don't think I follow, Headmaster," I asked, trying to remain as calm as possible while it was becoming increasingly apparent that he knows of my ulterior motives.

"All I am saying is that you should start answering me more honestly, Mr. Arc." he raised one of his brows. "Are you not aware of how 'Great & Powerful' I am?"

I was willing to doubt that he knows of my façade and was bluffing, but by the mention of that nickname that he emphasized, I lost my breath and wasn't able to think. Even if I did, he already knew, so there was no point in trying to beguile him into thinking otherwise. I've been doing my best to maintain an image of someone they expected from me for everyone's own good, but Ozpin somehow managed to look past of it and knew that I wasn't being genuine with my feelings.

"Worry not, Jaune, your father and sisters used to give me the same nickname. I did not invade your private belongings, I can assure you that. I was only able to read you like a book. And while you successfully managed to fool others, nothing suspicious ever gets past me without my knowledge." He smiled, but in a way that says 'I got you now.' "If there's a time were we finally discuss this, it is now."

I sighed as I took off my metaphorical mask. I'm just glad that he didn't read through this journal, I could not imagine how I am going to handle the fact that someone managed to read it without my consent. "Fine, you got me. Just tell me what you want."

"The truth. I can see that there is something bothering you ever since I first interviewed you for your attendance. Feel free to speak your mind, this will not affect your disciplinary record nor will I try to expose you. It is a secret I am willing to keep; I only want nothing more than your honest answers."

"So you want the truth then? Well, here it is, I don't actually want to be a hero, and I didn't want to be a Huntsman either." I bluntly admitted. "Everything that led me to here was nothing short of unintentional."

"Unintentional? How unintentional? It is rather dubious to think that you managed to achieve such feats by accident." he asked, putting his mug down the table.

"Remember that heist at Podunk, which made my debut? That was me trying to run away and failing. I had to defend myself from the Ursa that followed me after it ended up killing the bandits. When everyone saw what happened, they thought I was saving them, and I had to go with that, because saying anything otherwise wouldn't help."

"Then why did you allow the villagers to perceive you as something you think you are not, and allowed them to give you a reputation that you seem to be ashamed of?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell them I was actually leaving them for dead just so I could live? Besides, you were already considering my entry prior to the incident."

"Ah, yes, I do remember first hearing about you when I discussed with your father for potential recruits. You were very young and was unskilled. Once you grew older, stronger and smarter, I knew you were ready whether you were willing or not. Your talents are unlike any other apart from your father, and there are very few individuals who can be claimed to have defeated Caiaphas Arc in a duel. Would I like to remind you that you ranked the top in last semester's freshmen combat training, second only to Pyrrha."

"It's a cruel world, especially if you live outside the kingdoms, I have to be prepared for anything. Even my sisters that did not attend any combat schools were trained. I just happened to take it more seriously than I should have." I explained. "Honestly, I don't think I'm that good. I just followed what my instincts told me to do."

"I am not surprised by that answer, Miss Belladonna gave the same explanation the night before the first semester ended. You must have quite the instincts then. Regardless of how actually talented you are in combat, whether you would admit or not, it is quite clear that you have been trained well enough to receive such grade in combat class." he stated. "It begs to ask, is your façade really necessary? Why did you bother going to the trouble of pretending to be someone you perceive to be something else when in public? You could have easily behaved here the same way you act at your home."

"It's good for the team spirit, without it, I'd probably be dead by now. If they're going to view me as something of a paragon, I might as well act like one. One of the effective ways of being a leader is to be likable enough, and look how far we went with that."

"A decent answer. I am glad you are aware of the importance of teamwork even if you use them for selfish purposes," he stated. "I am curious why did you suddenly decide to lose the interest of becoming a Huntsman once you started training with your father?"

"Let's just say I found out the world was not worth saving at all and that being a hero isn't what it was cracked up to be. Besides, there are plenty of people who could do the job better than I would, why not leave it to them?"

"I find that to be shallow to an extent." he retorted. "Those very same people could be thinking the same way as you, and if they are convinced that they could not save the world, then who else would? Remnant needs Huntsmen, it does not matter if one seek money, fame, or any other desires, because without them, there would never be a world to speak of."

"There will always be Huntsmen, professor, and I don't think I'll ever be worthy of being called that. All I wanted to do was stay safe and survive."

"Jaune, a lot of people outside of your family believes in you, you just need to learn to believe in yourself. If you are unable to do that and continue to think that you are neither worthy nor capable of becoming a Huntsman, then I am going to have to drop you out, after all, you wanted to go back home, did you not?"

"Professor, as much as I wanted to leave and return to peace, I'm afraid that will end up staining the family name. So I'm determined to continue staying at Beacon, even if I don't want to."

"Very well, then I will mark you as a prodigy who no longer has to attend combat academy as your performance proves that is is no longer necessary; I will grant you your license early and you will be left at your own devices. That way, your family's honor will remain intact and you do not have to spend four more years in Beacon, you seemed to be already capable enough, so why even stay?"

"You can do that?" I asked skeptically.

"You will be surprised to know how much power I possess. This is a rare offer, Mr. Arc. Either you take it or continue to study at Beacon, it is your choice."

I have been fearing this for a while now, and it caught me off-guard that I have to face it this early. I really wanted to accept his offer, but I still have a team to lead, especially after I just won a food fight for them. Not to mention, everything about this screams 'test of character', I still don't believe that someone even as Great & Powerful as Ozpin could hand out licenses early like a bunch of cards. This could just be an elaborate use of reverse psychology for all I know. So, I guess the best decision was to accept that I have to endure Beacon for a long while.

In short, you already won, Ozpin.

"I appreciate it, professor, but I'll have to decline. As much as I want to accept it, I still have a team to look after, they just won't be the same without me. I can't just leave them and let them down."

"Are you really sure? You do not need to worry about your team, as the position will be filled by someone else. Is this not what you want, to be free of the dangers of combat school?"

"I do want it, but I have already decided to graduate by traditional methods. I already accepted that I'm going to be a Huntsman, whether I want to or not, and that's final."

Ozpin stared at me for a moment before humming and putting a smirk at his face. "For someone who claims to be a coward, you seem to hold a lot of courage when facing these types of problems—even going as far as to accepting four-years of rigorous training in a combat school. That is what I like about you, Jaune." he remarked before grabbing the mug from the table and taking a sip. "I am impressed that you were able to continue spending your time here in Beacon when you could have easily requested to be dropped out, or if you are daring, get yourself expelled."

Yeah, this was my life now for a while, and I'm already getting used to it. The one thing left to do was not get killed in the process.

"You should not fear your enemies, Jaune. If anything, they should fear you. You are a lot more capable than you think you are." he stood up and walked around the room.

"That'll only make them want to kill me more."

"True. But knowing you, you are never going to allow that to happen, am I correct?" he said as he took another sip.

I sighed and nodded. But even if I did survive large Grimm and terrorists, I still prefer to avoid these threats as much as possible.

"I am glad you made this decision. As for your public persona, I would advise you to maintain it. Ignorance is sometimes bliss, and we do not want to spoil the illusion of you being a charismatic hero, now do we?"

I raised my brow at Ozpin's consideration of upholding my masquerade. "What are you getting to?"

"What I was saying was I find it rather beneficial for you and your allies—so long as you continue to serve them as much as you like to serve yourself."

"I intend to. Just keep this between us."

"Mr. Arc. You may not like me and I frankly could not care less, but you can trust me on this one," he vowed before he continued to drink his entire mug until it was empty.

"I just have one question," I stated.

"Speak."

"Why are we discussing this just now? You said you spoke to Blake right after what happened at the docks and the day before last semester ended, why didn't you ask me after then?"

"Good question. Originally I intend to have this discussion during that night, but I wanted to see how you would handle your first day in the second semester before I address your issues and give you a choice. I can see that you have made genuine bonds with your team and Team RWBY, which makes your decision to stay much more understandable." he explained.

"Yeah, about that… Sorry for the mess hall earlier."

"No need for that. You are still young and you must cherish every minute of it. The damages you caused are easily repaired or replaced."

So, he really was watching me. Was he also to watching me during the missions I had during the break? Probably, because one day wasn't enough to satisfy his curiosity.

"That is all. It was nice speaking to you, Jaune. This conversation has been quite enlightening." he concluded.

I stood out and puffed. I went to the exit and began to pull the door open before hearing him once again.

"One more thing. Your father is very proud of you. While he is indeed worried about your life—he believes in you. Try not to take that away from him."

I gave a dim nod, barely looking back to see him, then walked away.

* * *

Leaving the faculty building, I stared at the evening sky—thinking if staying here was the right decision. I just couldn't help but think it is, it would be too much of a selfish move to just leave after I just had fun with my friends. I still don't know what to think that Ozpin has been aware of my insecurities and actual motives since the beginning. Maybe as long as he keeps his promise of keeping it a secret, it shouldn't be much a problem, but I still cannot help but doubt.

Strolling around the Beacon courtyard, musing about what to do now that Ozpin knows, I decided to relax and just do the same thing I've always been doing. Ozpin evidently wanted me to stay, so there was no reason for him to expose me as a fraud, he even admits that he prefers this to stay that way.

I headed back to the dorms. Just when I thought I started to watch where I was going, I ended up colliding with a Haven student. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you." I apologized. She turned around, revealing her green eyes. She was very short (short enough to make Ruby and Weiss look tall.), her hair was black and she wore twin tails with white bows on each tail. She was just standing there, eerily smiling at me without a single word—and I could only stare back, confused with her expression and lack of communication.

"Oh, Nico, there you are! We told you not to wander around alone." One of the two other Haven students said as they were approaching her. The one who spoke was a dark-skinned girl whose hair is a light-green bob cut and had crimson red eyes, and the other was a boy with grey hair. "Look at who you just found." the former said as she looked at me.

I continue to stare speechlessly when another one of them arrived. This one had long black hair and amber colored eyes and spoke with a rather soothing voice. "Ah, yes, it looks like Nico has stumbled upon the partner of The Invincible Girl herself." she commented before speaking to me. "Jaune Arc, is it not?"

Just how many Haven students are going to recognize me from Pyrrha alone? As if my reputation wasn't bad enough, I can definitely see how Pyrrha feels every time someone recognizes her. "That's me!" I said with a grin as I swung my arm. "Sorry for bumping to your friend here. I get lost at my own thoughts when walking sometimes."

"It's okay, I'm sure Nico here thinks so too. She's a _sweet,_ if a very quiet girl, especially around strangers." she replied. I noticed that she subtly emphasized 'sweet' for some reason, it's probably just me. "Where are my manners? My name is Cinder, and these are my teammates—Mercury, Emerald, and of course, Nico." she gestured at her, who silently waved at me.

"And we're Team Cinnamon!" the gray-haired boy named Mercury said with a grin. "Spelt C-M-E—Oww!" His gut was elbowed by Emerald before he was able to finish. **[1]**

"We heard some interesting things about you. Is it true that you were a local hero who killed a Vacuan bandit lord and Ursa who were both terrorizing a town?" Cinder asked.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I'll be lying if I said that wasn't me." I humbly answered. "I was just doing it for the good people of that town. They didn't deserve to be attacked like that."

"Handsome, polite, strong, courageous and modest. My, my, that's a very rare combination nowadays, it's no wonder why people talk a lot about you." Cinder remarked with interest.

I could only blush as an admittedly gorgeous woman compliments me. When she was about to seductively put a hand on my cheek, my senses quivered and I automatically grabbed her wrist, causing her to frown and alerting her companions.

"Sorry. My instincts are acting out." I apologized as I let go of her of her arm, calming down her teammates behind her.

"Strong grip." she shook her arm. "I like it..." she said, smiling again. "We should be off. We were heading to our dorms when Nico wandered off. I'm glad that she did now we were finally able to meet you face-to-face."

I continue to get flush as she stared at me with her alluring looks. "Well, it's nice to meet you too."

"Looking forward to seeing you in action, handsome." she bid me farewell, parting with three of her teammates.

"Yeah, of course, and welcome to Beacon!" I said as I watch them leave. I sighed and went back to my own dorm.

Exchange students, a food fight, and a talk with the Great & Powerful Ozpin; meeting fangirls from Vacuo, Sun's friend with a 'cool dude' attitude that somehow manages to appeal Weiss of all people, and this strange team. This semester just keeps getting interesting by the minute, and I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

 **=o=**

1\. _The team name was created from an unfortunate result from the team name generator, and they were stuck with it. Needless to say none of them like it—preferring their unofficial name, Team CMSN (Crimson), although Mercury Black likes to tease his teammates about the name._

* * *

 **That's it for the first chapter of the 2nd-semester arc. Don't forget to leave feedback as usual.**

 **Extras will be released soon as a separate story, with the first short story being currently on the works.**

 **On another note, can't wait to see Volume 6 premiere this week! Hopefully, it would be much better than the last two divisive volumes. Glad they didn't show much in the trailer, only showcasing bits and pieces of the train fight and the other scenes briefly.**

 **Have a Happy Spooktober, everyone!**


	7. Blake Ops

**Well, this took longer than it should have. Must have something to do with writing two docs at once *cough*Extras*cough* while being busy with other things.**

 **Anyway, it's finally here, so enjoy.**

 **EDIT 2/3/2019: Cleared a couple of plotholes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Blake Ops**

* * *

 _"Treat people like animals and they'll start acting like animals, then they'll be remembered as animals."_

 ** _-Adria Shepherd, 'Fall of the Old Fang'_**

Nothing says another day at Beacon than having my dorm ceiling be the first thing I see after waking up. Classes were resuming today, so I had to start preparing myself and take them seriously since this semester was said to be more difficult than the last.

Classes were the same as the last semester—with the same respective teachers. One of the few differences is that the subjects were expanded. Grimm Studies now teaches survival lessons and Grimm biology—even then, it was still mostly about Professor Port's tall tales, which I still doubt are true, if not exaggerated. History & Social Studies now have economics and Remnant geology. Dust Studies now teach the more advanced use of dust. Combat Class was more or less the same, physical exercises, weapon maintenance, combat tactics, the occasional swimming and of course everyone's favorite—sparring.

I was usually the first to be finished maintaining my equipment because of how simple they are especially compared to everyone's fancy weapon hybrids and dust clothing, but now I'm spending extra time so I could make sure my laser pistol won't ever end up bursting at my face.

The day ended after Port's class, which was rather slow because one, it's Port's class, what do you expect? Two, being the last class for the day while anticipating for it to be over dramatically slows downtime; the fact that its two hours doesn't help.

Since I vowed myself to have a better study ethic, I tried going to the library after class to study what lessons that were taught today and relax once I'm done, maybe go to Vale and watch that new Spruce Willis movie everyone won't shut up about. **[1]** However, there was a change of plans after meeting with Sun and his friend, Neptune Vasila-whatever on my way there.

"Yo, Jaune, what's my favorite knight-in-shining-armor doing?" Sun greeted.

"Oh hey, Sun, Neptune. Just going through today's notes. How's Beacon treating you?"

"It's nice! I could get used to a place like this." Sun answered before grabbing my shoulder to get me near him. "So listen, we kinda need your help."

"With what exactly?"

"I have been… let's just say, 'observing' Blake and her team and by the looks of it, they seem to be very focused on something, and I don't think it's related to school, because seriously, who cares about what a Beowolf's inside look like?"

"Yeah, boooring." Neptune commented.

"Weiss would." I sneered and snickered at my own joke. Though to be fair, Grimm biology does have some useful pointers, such as telling you where the Grimm's weak and vulnerable parts are located, if only they didn't make it sound dull. "I noticed that too, I'm sure it's nothing serious, it's probably just team business."

"I want to think that too, but they seem to be so awfully quiet outside each other. I feel like they're up to something."

"And as gentlemen, it is our obligation to lend a helping hand on these ladies at whatever they are planning," Neptune said.

If you really consider yourself a gentleman, you would have respected their own business. "Well, whatever it is, I think they'll be fine without us."

"I know, but Blake's being really stubborn a lot lately. I've been watching her for the whole day and something's going on that isn't normal."

And you're being stubborn yourself. **[2]** "Sun, are you stalking Blake? That's really creepy, man. Keep that up and maybe I'll start stealing her for myself." I sarcastically stated.

"What? No! Listen Jaune, I'm doing this as a concerned friend. I'm telling you—I think it's something about the White Fang. Do you really think she'd just stop after the docks? If she's still going after something as serious as them, then she'll need all the help they could get. I don't care if she and her team are badass chicks, going after those psychos is borderline suicidal even if you know what you're doing."

I sighed, he's right, Blake really needs to let go with the White Fang, and stop provoking them. Otherwise, they will continue to bother her in return. "Fine, but I'm doing this for Blake, not for you."

"Awesome! Now follow me."

I followed the duo to the back of the dorms. We looked at Team RWBY's conveniently open dorm window in the fourth level on the building. Glancing at the nearby tree, I exactly knew what Sun was thinking.

"Are you sure about this, Sun?" I asked. "You know, we could just knock on their door like normal people."

"Yeah, I know, but that's the boring way, and we'll doing it my way—the Sun way!"

Oh, I get it.

"Now follow my lead!" he then effortlessly climbed on the tree and leaped to the level of the story where Team RWBY's dorm was located. He hanged back there and waited for us.

I had experience climbing trees back home, so it wasn't much of a problem, but I could still remember falling off one when I was younger and I didn't have aura back then; it was an unpleasant memory. Luckily, I did manage to make it and got to the ledge of the building. The ledges were a foot a tall, and it was rather high, so I remained still and hugged the walls tightly, doing my best not to look down while waiting for Neptune to follow.

"Hey, are you coming?" Sun asked.

"Just give me a sec." It took him some time for him to climb the tree. He visibly had some difficulty, but since he was training to be a Huntsman, he did manage to do it eventually.

We then carefully moved next to Team RWBY's dorm window, it being open made it easier to eavesdrop on them while the three of us continue to hold still at the ledges.

"Right! Everyone remember their roles?" Asked Ruby's high-pitched voice.

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." A voice proudly uttered, unmistakably coming from you-know-who.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake said, which indeed confirmed that she was going after the White Fang.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale," Yang said. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found." Ruby said. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" Sun said as he jumped and hung his tale at the top of the window frame.

"Sun!" Blake shouted.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Oh, it's easy—I do it all the time." he answered.

"You do what?!" Weiss yelled, apparently misinterpreting his statement in the wrong way. (Though if you ask me, it doesn't sound far-fetched.)

"I climb trees all the time!" he clarified as he flipped inside the dorm room, giving us the room adjust near the window. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

" _We_ are going to investigate the situation... as a _team_ ," Blake stated.

While I'm glad that this team is finally getting along and are working together; normally, I'd let them be, but I was still not a fan of their decision to attract more trouble from the White Fang with just a four of them. So I bluffed them into letting us help; it worked before, it worked again, seeing how they couldn't resist getting my help the other day.

"You hear that, Sun? This is team business. Now let's go back before we start bothering them even more." I said leaning at the dorm's window. I saw that they were wearing different outfits from their usual ones. Yang, in particular, was wearing a more relatively modest apparel, while still exposing her thighs and cleavage, because why wouldn't she.

"Jaune, you're here too?" Ruby asked. "On second thought, you guys are welcome to help!"

Got 'em.

"Hold on! I thought we agreed not to involve friends if we don't have to?" Weiss questioned.

"I said we don't have to force anyone to help, but if they are willing, then why stop them? Besides, the more the merrier." Ruby responded.

"I'll have to agree with her on this." Blake backed her up. "The White Fang's ploy could be even bigger than we anticipated that we'll need all the necessary assistance, especially someone like Jaune, he's strong, smart and brave; I haven't seen him lost to anyone yet."

I don't know if I should be flattered by that. I was only considered strong because I had to prepare for the worst, smart because I needed to take everything to my advantage when possible, and brave just simply being not true, no matter how many times Nora called me a fearless leader.

Weiss sighed. "Whatever you say then."

"That's great!" Sun said. "Hey Jaune, Neptune, I think you could get in now."

Finally, I thought, I was waiting when I would stop hanging in this those tight ledges.

"How did you guys even get up there?" Yang asked after Neptune and I got through the window and into her team's dorm room.

"We have our ways," Neptune replied.

"You know you could just knock." Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, it's not like I suggested that earlier or anything." I scoffed before turning to Blake. "Blake, you need to let the White Fang go. If you keep lingering on the past, it will continue to haunt you. Just let the authorities do their thing against them."

"Look, as much as I want to move on from them, I can't help but to think that the White Fang are planning on something and no one is doing anything about it. The police just aren't reliable; if no one is going to stop them then who else will?!" she retorted.

"Jaune, I understand what your trying to do, but Blake obviously isn't going to stop no matter how hard you try to convince her. Trust us, we tried, so it's best you'll just let her be for now." Weiss stated.

I palmed my face and puffed. I guess it couldn't be helped. Walking out of here would only make me look like a dick when I agreed to help out, so I'll just have to go with whatever they're trying to do. I heard it's just an investigation, so how bad could it be? "Fine. So what the plan?"

"Oh right. Weiss and I are going to the CCT to read some records, Blake is going to some recruitment meeting thing with the White Fang, and Yang is going to the shady part of town to ask some questions." Ruby replied before facing Neptune. "Neptune, you will go with us, seeing how you were smart enough to beat us yesterday, you should be able to help us with the records. That and, Weiss seems to like you."

"Hey!" Weiss nervously blushed while Neptune winked at her.

"Nerd." Sun sneered.

"Intellectual," Neptune insistively responded.

"Sun, you will go with Blake, because with you being a faunus, you are sure to fit in." Ruby continued before turning at me. "And you will go with Yang, since you are so good at fighting, she's going to need some extra muscle."

"Yeah! Let the Blonderhood assemble!" Yang remarked as she went beside me and put an arm around my shoulder.

Oh hell no, I am not going to Vale's criminal underground with Yang of all people, I thought. That would mean guaranteed trouble and more terrible puns from her, and I was not having it.

"How about I go with you and Weiss? I had experience with examining records and catalogs and done some investigating in the past, so looking into some papers won't be that hard for me." I suggested to Ruby. I don't care if I had to go through a tedious process of scrutinizing records for hours, I'm better off fighting boredom once again than risking my life by visiting a place full of thugs with a feisty girl with a hair-trigger temper.

"Unfortunately for you, it has been decided." Weiss asserted with arms crossed and her eyes closed. "Neptune will be coming with us to the CCT and his assistance will do nicely."

"Hey, I actually don't mind trading places. The shady part of Vale sounds more exciting than looking at a bunch of papers—I'll leave that one to the experts..." Neptune chimed in, much to Weiss' shock and chagrin.

"Well, hop in," I said, giving each other a low-five as we swap our positions. "Sorry Yang, looks like the Blonderhood would have to assemble some other day."

"That's a shame. I was hoping to see the not-so-wimpy 'Vomit-Man' show more of his sick skills." Yang said. "Eh, there's always next time. The new guy can't be that bad." she continued before grabbing Neptune's collar. "I still haven't forgiven you for yesterday."

Neptune just nervously chuckled and grinned.

"I for one, don't mind Jaune joining us," Ruby remarked to a disappointed Weiss.

"Shut up, Ruby."

"Just one problem," I stated before turning to Blake. "Are you sure they won't recognize you? The White Fang did find out who you were the second they saw you at the docks."

"Why do you think I'm wearing a different outfit then? Besides, I'll be wearing a mask, and it's not like I'm the only faunus girl with black hair." she answered. **[3]**

"Fair point." Well, that's not a bad idea; those new clothes look good on them anyway.

"Alright is everyone all set?" Ruby asked everyone on the room before we all nodded. "Let's do this then!"

 **=o=**

1\. _That film was rather controversial since it depicted Spruce Willis' character as a human vigilante, who kills criminals he comes across, including faunus. It was accused of promoting fascism and violence against faunus, with the White Fang threatening violence to theaters that screen the film. It should be noted that the film was not well-received by critics, either due to the controversy, threats from faunus extremists, or the quality of the film itself, or the combination of the above._

2\. _Look who's talking._

3\. _Blake was supposed to be the only one wearing different clothing during the investigation, but Ruby and Yang liked the idea of wearing different outfits during the occasion and had me follow them even though it wasn't necessary for us._

* * *

The Vale CCTS Tower wasn't far ahead, in fact, it was a very brief walk—since it turned out, it was not only on the campus, but it was in the Beacon Tower all along. I thought it would be located somewhere in the city where it would be much more accessible. **[1]**

I still can't believe that this was the very same tower whose temporal unavailability prevented anyone from calling (real) help from Podunk that day.

"Wow! I forgot how big the tower looks up close!" Ruby squealed.

"You should see the one in Atlas." Weiss added.

"That was the first one, right?"

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

Thanks for the tour guide, it's not like I crammed history to learn that for the fiftieth time. **[2]**

"Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby mocked.

"Like yah, I'm such a classeh womahn. Don't make fun of meh 'cause I'm perfect and your not, ya' dolts." I followed doing my best impression of a snobbish valley girl, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Why does everyone think I keep calling people that?! I only called Ruby that like only once on the first day!" Weiss angrily remarked. "Let's not forget, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know, but it's so cool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" she said, pulling out her scroll. Unfortunately, it slipped and ended up landing in front of someone interesting.

"You dropped this." A familiar voice said, which belonged to none other than the eccentric wonder-girl from the docks two weeks ago.

"Penny?!" Ruby screamed, shocking her the moment she recognized our faces.

"Oh, it's you," Weiss said.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby told her.

"I'm still not sure that you're responsible for saving the shipment that night." Weiss offhandedly remarked.

"Weiss, not now." Ruby chided.

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused." Penny said before making a hiccup that caused her to throw the scroll which Ruby was able to catch.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"It's okay. I'm fine! It's just a minor hiccup." Penny replied before making another hiccup. "Uh... I've got to go!" she said as she bolted away from us.

"What was that about?" Weiss questioned.

"Beats me," I answered.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Ruby said before going to where Penny was headed. "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later."

"Wait!" Weiss called her.

Since Penny was a part of the incident of the docks and was a rather major player during that event, she was technically part of this case. There was more to her than meets the eye, and I have a lot of unanswered questions from her.

"And where do you think you're going?" Weiss asked as she saw me following Ruby's trail.

"I'm going after them. I still need to know what's up with her. Go ahead, we'll meet you later." I told her as I continue following the two.

"I thought you came with me so you could help me with the records!" she said as I go further from her. "Jaune!" she yelled before I heard her groan in defeat. Well, I never wanted to stay with her so we could stare at papers for hours anyway.

I spotted the two below the steps. Penny was noticeably trying to brush her off without being rude. Ruby continued to follow her, sliding down the trails and stopped her from walking.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me! Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night! Please...as a friend"

I took the steps down and Penny turned around and saw me. She looked anxious and doesn't know what to say.

"It's okay. You're not in trouble. We just need some things cleared up." I assured.

Penny just stared at me until Ruby held her shoulder and told her, "You can trust him; Jaune is the nicest guy I know."

She looked down and took a few seconds to ponder. "Friends…" she turned back to Ruby and told her. "It isn't safe to talk here."

"So where exactly can you tell us then?" Ruby asked.

"Please follow me." she said as we complied.

She led us both into a Bullhead. Apparently, whatever she has to say, it was sensitive enough to be heard at a crowded place like Beacon. I couldn't care much because I have a desire to know what's with her.

There's something strange about this girl that she is not telling us.

 **=o=**

1\. _There were already several communication stations around the city that were connected to the CCT so that people don't have to necessarily travel to the Beacon Tower in order to use the communications._

2\. _You didn't have the best memory when it came to history, so it was my pleasure._

* * *

We took a short walk around downtown. We stopped at Café Noire, the very same place where Blake explained everything to me. Talk about déjà vu. I was once again inquiring information from a strange, mysterious girl, who I just have to confront after she fled from her friends.

Penny and I were standing outside the café, waiting for Ruby as she ordered us some drinks.

"So Penny, where are you from?" I asked.

"Atlas."

"Atlas, huh? Nice place. Pretty advanced, especially with all the neat weapons and robots they are making."

"Yes. Precisely…" she said with noticeable grief.

There was definitely something bothering her. She wasn't being the like the cheery-girl who managed to slaughter an entire platoon of White Fang troopers without losing her smile. "Hey, you can tell me what's wrong. Don't worry, I'm not gonna force you if you feel uncomfortable about it."

She looked down for a second before asking. "Jaune. Has your father been sometimes overprotective of you?"

I took a deep breath at that question. "Yeah. He's a bit paranoid. Can't really blame him, we live outside the kingdoms; that's why he trained me enough to be qualified for Beacon. His training was tough, I admit, but I get what he was trying to do, he's my dad after all; he was the first person I look up to when I needed someone to talk to. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead by now."

"Sounds like your father loves you very much." she remarked, her expression brightening.

"Of course he does; what kind of father would he be if he doesn't" I rhetorically asked. "Anyway, what can you tell me about your father?"

"He's a brilliant man, one of Atlas' finest scientists even."

I raised my brow in interest. "Cool. Did he make your weapons?"

"Correct. They're still mostly prototypes, however. There are still a lot of improvements to be made before they could display their full potential." she nodded.

So you're telling me that those crazy flying blades attached to her backpack that could blast lasers strong enough to cut Bullheads in half were only prototypes? Damn. Must be one heck of a genius. Can't imagine what the final version would be like. "That's really neat. I can see why your dad is considered to be one of Atlas' top minds." I complimented. "By the way, mind telling us why you just suddenly left us at docks without a single farewell. I'm not mad is mad you, no one is, trust me—I'm just really curious."

"I really want to answer but I—"

"I'm back~!" Ruby yelled as she left the café with a drink carrier containing three cups of coffee. "So what did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing really. Well, other than the revelation that Penny's weapons were prototypes." I stated.

"They're just prototypes?! That's awesome! So you're telling me that her weapons could still be better?!"

Oh boy, it appeared that I have triggered her inner weapon-enthusiast. Penny seemed to become anxious so I had to respond in her behalf. "Pretty much."

Ruby noticed Penny's expression and apologized. "Oh, I must have made you a bit nervous. Sorry about that, I just get too excited on cool weapons that's all. Here have a drink."

"No thanks, it's fine. My father does not allow me to take hot drinks." Penny declined.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. Coffee helps ease your mind; you look like you could use one." Ruby urged.

"I'm okay Ruby, really. You don't have to."

"That's a bummer… More coffee for me then!"

"I'd be careful with those if I were you," I said as I took mine from the carrier. I instinctively can't trust energetic girls with caffeine much nowadays.

She snickered. "Relax Jaune, I'm not like Nora."

Not really, but close enough, I thought as I took her word with a grain of salt.

We went for a stroll at the sidewalks, which is when Ruby started asking questions regarding the docks incident while drinking two cups of coffee.

"So, Penny. Do you know anything about those guys we fought at the docks a couple of weeks back? Namely Torchwick and the White Fang." Ruby asked.

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men." she answered.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?"

"That's a little too far, don't you think?" I remarked.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny responded

"Then where did you go?" Ruby inquired.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but… Oh, you have to understand, my father loves me very much… He just worries a lot."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby chimed.

"Ditto," I added before puffing. "Well, that's what fathers do."

"But why not let us know you were okay?" Ruby continued asking.

"I... was asked not to talk to you… or Jaune… or Weiss… or Blake… or Yang. Anybody, really."

"Sounds like we upset your dad. Sorry, Penny." I apologized.

"No, it wasn't my father—" she rectified before a voice caught her attention. We followed to see to a corner overlooking a public announcement conducted by a hologram of a man in a white military suit, unmistakably Atlesian. **[1]**

"The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years—and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" the hologram said followed by an applause from an audience as the robots behind him bowed.

"But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it?" he continued as he open vertical sliding doors, showing a new batch of robots that were sleeker and whiter compared to the older ones that were grey and glossy. "Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" the new robots stepped down and stomped on the older models as the crowd gave a round of applause.

"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." he said as the robots gave a few poses, earning a few laughs from the audience. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield."

I don't know about that, but the last time I heard someone leaving everything to machines, it did not go well.

"However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch.

"Ruby… Jaune…" Penny called while Ruby was apparently engrossed by the announcement.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I think we should go somewhere else…."

"Hang on for a moment, I like where this is going!" Ruby urged.

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company—are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!"

A large hologram of a two-legged mech straight from a sci-fi movie appeared. Atlas was always known for their impressive and innovative technology, but even then, they still never cease to amaze me with their inventions. That robot is pretty freaking awesome; it would be a dream to ride on one of those things.

"Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"

"No way…" I said, astounded while Ruby was just as understandably impressed

"Can we go now?" Penny asked as she stepped back.

A couple Atlesian soldiers started looking at our direction, one of them pointed at us while the other radioed his comms. "Uh, are they looking at us?" I asked as I turned back and saw Penny running.

"Penny? Wait! Where are you going?" she asked before we looked back and saw the soldiers sprinting toward us. We dropped all of our coffees and ran, following Penny across the street and into an alleyway.

What a waste of good coffee.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked me as we did our best to catch up with Penny.

"I don't know!" I told her, but if my assessments prove me right, then she must have been a V.I.P. or some sort judging that his father is considered to be a brilliant scientist and that she was not the type of person to commit a felony of some kind. "Maybe, we should reason with them!"

"Are you kidding?!"

"Hear me out; I don't think she's in trouble. They're just worried about her or something."

"What do you mean?"

"What I was saying was, they're not here to arrest her or anything like that, and they just want to escort her because she's someone important to them."

"Well, whatever the reason, it looks like she doesn't want to get caught yet!"

We kept her as she ran across the street and went into another alley. The two soldiers were slowed down after they almost got hit by a passing car, giving us more distance between them.

We were able to get near Penny while the two Atlesians continued to chase us. We then noticed two paths as we continued to make our way to the alley.

"Split up!" she commanded before I was able to argue.

She and Penny went to the left while I went to the right. The Atlesians did the same, with one of them chasing me as I continued to evade them.

I put on my hood, not that it would make much of a difference, but I was sure they'll forget me once this is done. After all, they were after Penny and not us; they shouldn't really bother much with dumb kids like us.

I went through an apartment's back door. I noticed a janitor's closet near the buildings main entrance, so I opened the front door to make it look like I went through there before hiding inside the closet. I peeked out and saw that I managed to trick the soldier into going out the front door.

I remained inside until I was sure that the soldier was gone outside a hundred-yard radius from where I was at. A few seconds of staying still in the closet, I heard my scroll vibrate, I took it out and saw that Pyrrha was trying to call me. I didn't want to ignore her call so I went upstairs and answered, the Atlesian should have given up since I was irrelevant and wasn't worth his time; surely, his partner must have called him from backup by then.

"Jaune Arc speaking."

"Jaune, where are you? I thought you said you'd study today."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to postpone that, Team RWBY suddenly asked me to help them with something…important," I explained

"How important exactly?" Pyrrha asked.

"Important-ish important?"

"Is it as important as the last time you went with Blake?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Look it's nothing like that." Not yet anyway. "It's just some sort of school project. I have some experience with what they needed, so I took up the task."

"Jaune, if Team RWBY have a school project, then we should have one too since we're basically in the same class unless I'm missing something, which I doubt I did because I remained attentive in class. Are you hiding something?"

"Okay, maybe it's not a school project, but it's important nonetheless, plus I'm trying to keep them out of trouble," I told her as I look through the apartment's window and saw an ambulance and a few marked cop cars quickly passing by, that was when I heard my scroll's text tone and saw a message from Ruby telling me that I should immediately meet her at her marked location. Oh boy, don't tell me you and Penny had anything to do with those emergency vehicles.

"Well, just don't take too long. This place is rather hectic without you…" she said before I heard Nora's screaming.

"The great tech-heresy is coming upon us! The machines are achieving free-will! Their machine spirits are being corrupted! They are now about to initiate the subjugation of all organic life! Ren, quick! Get the EMPs. I refuse to be enslaved by a bunch of walking toasters!"

"Nora! Calm down! There isn't any robot uprising." Ren audibly tried to tell her.

"That's what they what you to think! Lisa Lavender is an A.I. I tell you; they control the news!"

"We mixed up the diet soda with the regular ones…" Pyrrha sighed.

I made a muffled groan as I shook my head. "Put me to her, I'll handle this."

"Okay." she obliged and put the scroll near Nora, which is evident because Nora's screaming became much more audible.

"Nora, this is Jaune. As your Fearless Leader, I command you to calm down at once!"

"Ha! Nice try, tin can, but your fancy voice simulators are not going to fool me! We will remain defiant to the end, for we have endured countless ages being the under threat of such monstrous predators, and your revolt will be seen as nothing more as another failed attempt at destroying humanity!"

I put my free hand on my face. I'd be impressed by that if she wasn't on a sugar rush right now. "Nora… just, please… stop it." I said in my natural tone that she usually hear.

"Oh, it's really you! Best of luck out there, you see a robot? Smash it until their processors are in itty-bitty-tiny pieces! They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be bargained with, and they will destroy anything made out of flesh, so you better be careful."

"I will, Nora, just please don't wreck the dorm."

"They are watching...!"

"Look, whatever you're doing, just hurry back," Pyrrha told me.

"I'll try," I replied. "See you later."

Geez, I was not expecting that, Nora can be a lot of things, but being a robophobic conspiracy theorist of some kind was not the first thing to come to mind.

I exited the apartment and ran through the same alley until I arrived at Ruby's marked location. I saw a crowd near a truck that has its front broken at the streets while it was being towed. By the looks of it, no one was seriously injured; the driver was being interviewed by a police officer who was writing down his notes.

What the hell exactly happened here? I thought. My other question was, wasn't the driver the same person who I sold my loot to? Something tells me this was neither my first nor second encounter with him.

"Psst. Over here." A voice called out. I looked around until I saw a half-opened dumpster before Ruby got out of it.

"Ruby? What are you doing in there?"

"It's complicated." she stated, dusting off the trash sticking in her outfit.

"Where's Penny?" I asked as she was nowhere to be found.

"She went with the soldiers." she answered. "You were right, they were not there to hurt her. They just wanted to make sure she was just safe, that's all."

"Well, that's a bit of a bummer. At least we know she's fine." I remarked before making a question. "Care to explain what's with the truck?"

"Oh yeah…that… uhm…" she stuttered, which all but says that she had something to do with it.

"I swear! I saw her stop it with her bare hands!" A pedestrian yelled out while Ruby was still trying to come up with an answer.

I folded my arms and continued to stare at her before she finally made a response. "She used...umm...her semblance! Yeah, that's right! Her semblance is super strength…which explains how she pulled that bullhead the other day!"

I gave her a puzzled look before I hesitantly bought her word. Something was not adding up, but it sounded too plausible to be a lie. I guess there was something I'm better off not knowing. **[2]**

"Is there anything else I should know?" I further inquired.

"Well, there's…uhh…"

"There's what?"

She began to shake her head. "Nothing forget I asked."

"Well, okay then."

She then looked back at the street. The crowd was dispersing, and the tow-truck carrying the damaged vehicle was leaving. "We should get out of here."

I nodded to her and we walked out of the area and was now strolling onto the Valish sidewalks.

"So, what now?"

 **=o=**

1\. _General Ironwood was the one who was doing the address. As usual, while Jaune heard of him via some of Professor Oobleck's lessons, he still wasn't able to recognize him. Ruby, meanwhile, recognized the General when Penny mentioned him to her._

2. _Some of you may be already aware of it, whether because you witnessed it first hand or read/heard about it, but I am not going to ruin the suspense of those who don't until it is revealed to Jaune much later in the journal._

* * *

 _Editorial Note: As usual, to provide a wider content to the narrative, I am going to place the other pairs' perspective here, starting with Yang and Neptune. Unlike most other excerpts, the following was originally an audio recording that is being presented in a transcript format._

Neptune's Audio Logs: Investigating the Club with Yang (Transcript)

 **Neptune:** Ahem. So, yeah it was a pretty crazy night. It kind of sucks that I didn't get to see most of it. Hell, we didn't even do much; Sun admitted that we might as well not be there at all. At least the experience was fun, and bringing that Jaune guy and having him go with Ruby and Weiss turned out to be a really good idea, even if we got a little trouble with the cops because of the damages and stuff that we have to perform community service for three days.

Anyway, we got to the club via Yang's pretty cool motorcycle. Since Vale's a pretty big city even for the speed of Yang's bike, it was already dark when we got there.

 _(Audio cuts during the duo's arrival at the club.)_

 _(Sound of a motorcycle's engine stopping.)_

 **Yang:** Come on, my friend's right in here! _(Audible club music in a distance.)_

 **Neptune:** Cool. _(Shakes off the dizziness.)_ And where exactly is... here?

 **Yang:** Just a club that I used to hang out one time—the same night I got banned. It was a pretty wild night.

 **Neptune:** You were banned the first time you came here?

 **Yang:** Yup, still am. But I don't give a flip, and they ain't gonna do jack about it.

 **Neptune:** You're the one to talk.

 **Yang:** ( _To the bouncers.)_ Hey, there you two! What're your names again?! Biggs? Wedge?

 _(Sounds of the bouncers' panicking and doors shutting can be heard.)_

 **Yang:** Aww, they weren't that shy before.

 **Neptune:** Looks like they don't really like you.

 **Yang:** Eh, who can blame them? They don't have the guts to face a woman like me. _(Grunts as she tried to open the door.)_ Oh, so they wanna play that game. _(Cocks gauntlets.)_ You might want to stand back.

 **Neptune:** Wait, you're not doing what I think—

 **Yang:** _(Grunts as she summons an explosion.)_

 **Neptune:** …you're doing.

 _(Club music becomes more audible as the duo enters.)_

 **Yang:** Guess who's back!

 _(Guns clicking. Club music suddenly starts breaking out until it eventually stops.)_

 **Neptune:** Yeah, so could you define 'friend' for me?

 **Man 1:** Stop, stop! Nobody shoot! _(Footsteps)_ Blondie, you're here…why?

 **Yang:** You still owe me a drink. _(Fading footsteps)_

 **Neptune:** Whoa, what a woman. ( _Pauses as he notices a pair of girls.)_ 'Sup?

 **Girls:** _(Simultaneously)_ Hmph. Whatever. ( _The two audibly walks away.)_

 **Neptune:** _(Chuckling as he started walking through the club.) (To a tong member.)_ Nice place.

 **Man 2:** Whatever, kid. Keep an eye on your girlfriend.

 **Neptune:** _(Stammering)_ Right…yeah…of course. _(Whispering)_ This is pretty awesome. I know Yang's a ton of fun, but I didn't know she's this much of a daredevil.

 **Yang:** Looks like you still have this place up and running, Junior. I'm surprised that people still go to this dump after that crazy dance-off we had.

 **Man 1 ('Junior'):** Just cut to the chase, Blondie. What the hell do you want?!

 **Yang:** Remember Torchwick? The guy with the bowler hat? Don't bother lying, I saw you talk to him last time I visited.

 **Junior:** Heh, Torchwick. I'm afraid you came to the wrong place. I know who he is, I'm just not buddies with him. He only came here once to make a deal and that was it. End of story.

 **Yang:** Bullshh—err—crap, you're obviously not telling us something!

 **Junior:** You're wasting your time here, Blondie. Seriously, I don't know what's he up to today nor do I give a damn about it.

 **Yang:** Then can you at least tell me the last time you've seen him?

 **Junior:** For the last fucking time, I don't know!

 **Yang:** How can you not know?

 **Junior:** I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid upfront, I lent him my men, and none of them _ever came back_. **[1]**

 **Neptune** : ( _Talking to himself.)_ It appears we have an uncooperative suspect here. It's time to unleash my inner detective. ( _Goes to the table and slammed it, knocking over a glass cup)_ So, where did they go?

 **Junior:** What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back! ( _He turns back to Yang_ ) Who is this guy?

 **Yang:** Don't worry about him, worry about me if I don't find out what I want!

 **Junior:** I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them. _(Suddenly yelling)_ Which is something I can relate to!

 **Man 3:** _(In a distance)_ Hey!

 **Yang:** Come on, Neptune.

 **Neptune:** We got everything we need?

 **Yang:** Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully, the rest of the team is having better luck.

 **Neptune:** You got banned from this place? Man, you're a wild chick.

 **Yang:** It's what I do, pretty boy.

 **=o=**

1\. _You can thank Ruby for that one, they were the same men who accompanied Torchwick during the night Professor Ozpin found her._

* * *

 _You may remember that I refused to extract Blake's writings due to her painfully-colorful prose style. Regretfully, I had no choice but to add it in here, as other accounts hardly detail the circumstance where she was present. If you insist on reading her dreadful writings, I advise you to proceed with caution, but if you are unable to bear with them, feel free to skip this section. The occurrence was explained later and it wasn't that hard to follow anyway, if only Blake made her account a little more readable._

 _And don't get me started on her fanfictions._

Confessions In The Shadows: The Infiltration

A cold breeze flew through the air as dusk finally emerged, bringing forth the starless, nebulous night sky exceeding the tenebrous, abandoned warehouse where the meeting would betide, signifying that the time has come for it to transpire as stated in its schedule that was provided to the faunus who are seeking emancipation through retribution.

I traced the White Fang's rough symbolic scratch marks on a nearby hard concrete wall with my soft, alabaster fingers that contrasted to its rough solid material. Around its corner displays the entrance to the session through an ominously caliginous passage that was being elapsed by individuals of our kin who were bearing the masks that signify allegiance to the White Fang. I witnessed a couple of troubled faunus youths being granted access to the warehouse, sadly lacking the cognizance that they would not be battling for a better world, but to unwittingly continue the vicious cycle of prejudice and injustice that has been plaguing both human and faunuskind since the dawn of their coexistence.

"I don't get it. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?" queried my tailed companion, who raised an admittedly decent inquiry, but he still lacks the intelligence of a monkey more often than the contrary. It's a pity that he was designated to accompany me to this crucial mission, as he was the only fellow faunus I know of on this circle of trusted associates. I would have preferred the two of my other affiliates who possessed a similar hair complexion, both of whom I have known to be far more congenial. But for the sake of our objective, they were better off pertaining in their own respective assignments where their respective abilities would be needed in order to generate progress for this investigation.

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters," I elucidated, enlightening his curious mind on the veils in question.

"Grimm masks... That's kind of dark," he remarked.

"So was the guy who started it." My mind was then succumbed into recollecting the images of my former beloved—Adam Taurus—after mentioning that individual who held a great extent of particularities. I purged my own mental images and slipped into my visor, partially obfuscating the face of the familiar Belladonna girl that was once known by the very organization I was infiltrating, prior to my rebirth as I was well-aware that the members are apprised about my stature in the organization.

We entered the building and blended to the assemblage of recruits in common clothing filed beside the detachment of uniformed soldiers that were lined in an orderly fashion. As we stood in the midst of the congregation inside the ominous room, we acquitted our efforts to remain concealed while the visored members glance at us as nothing more than another twain of repressed kinsmen who are yearning to revolt at their human oppressors, the very image we were trying to deceive them into presuming. Years of experience have made me skilled enough to insinuate into the most secluded areas, **[1]** therefore my entire mental state lacked any difference from my previous operations provided by the very faction I was infiltrating. One distinction from my previous operations, however, is that I am accompanied by a companion who presumably lacked perspicacity in the fine and intricate arts of subterfuge, thereby inducing some difficulties with his mere presence while already needing to supervise him for this task.

The personage conducting this convention of horribly misguided, if not hypocritical souls was none other than Vandyke Fawkes—the tattooed, chainblade-wielding mutilator of the White Fang. My amber orbs threw figurative daggers toward him as I recall every single act of hellish malevolence he had the sadistic pleasure in partaking during the times when we had a mutual affiliation. His methods were inhumanely ferocious even by the standards of the most extreme portions of this organization. Nevertheless, Adam evidently found his fellow sadist a respectable position.

"For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for so long."

Roman Torchwick has finally manifested himself to the unwelcoming mob of atrabilious faunus, who propelled every kind of derogatory remarks toward him, not that it had affected him one single bit. One such recruit among the masses demanded answers from the organization on why they allowed themselves to fraternize with one of the evil, repugnant, despotic, materialistic and traitless scum that they anticipated to swear retribution to.

Torchwick managed to appease the blazing fury that was the crowd before him by sharing his dislike for his own species. The same crowd who bellowed irate jeers at him subsequently howled cries of joy as they began to accept their collaborator who was outside of their own kin. But anyone who was any wiser knew that he expressed himself through his antipathy to society as a whole; not out of sympathy for the maltreated faunus who in all likelihood, were considered as nothing more than instruments for his enigmatic ends.

Scanning the stage, my perception shifted toward a short, strange and interestingly colorful figure adjacent to him. She was a girl with heterochromia, possessing hair that matches the asymmetrical colors of her orbs. Her appearance was of a harmless little girl, making her appear incongruous to the horde of violent ruffians that surround her, but if she indeed was Torchwick's confidant, then she was not as innocent as her aspects suggested. My concentration returned toward Torchwick, for I lack the requsite information to judge the idiosyncratic midget he is accompanying, nor does she appear as relevant.

"I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy, the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms! Government, military, even the schools; they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."

Within a single snap, he uncloaked the enormous object wrapped in black fabric behind him, unveiling a substantially-sized, curveless metal behemoth that bears the scarlet insignia of the White-Fang painted on its shoulder before his audience. The giant contraption designated for war was undoubtedly of Atlesian origin, which was evident by the clean, bright, rectangular aesthetic it exhibits itself with. **[2]** The members exclaimed in ovation to the unveiling of their new asset. My companion and I were no less shocked at the revelation, as a weapon this formidable should be impossible to be possessed by individuals such as Torchwick, no matter how much influence he managed to acquire in the dark world known as the criminal underground of Vale.

He said that it was one of Atlas' latest technological innovations for their already-powerful military force. He added that he was able to obtain one of these rare mechanical titans though an 'employer'. Whoever this mysterious employer may be and how are they able to somehow take hold of a significant asset from the greatest military powerhouses on the planet even before becoming officially furnished for their utilization, still remains a mystery yet to be solved.

"Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

He was answered with a burst of applause from all over the premises, with the members harmonically cheering in anticipation to witness the destruction of one their oppressors using with one their jaw-dropping technologies. Within the throng of the roaring herd, we still remained flabbergasted at the reveal of the White Fang's new possession, even if we expected a major unveiling that would help advance Adam's twisted ambitions. "We should get out of here," I apprised to Sun as I faced toward him.

"Will all new recruits, please come forward," beckoned Fawkes. The sea of recruits started to flow straight like an unswerving stream, dragging us with a torrent of bodies as it advanced onwards; attempting to move in the opposite direction would undoubtedly cause suspicion.

I instigated my intuitions and scanned around the monochrome warehouse swiftly for a possible escape route before our presence become compromised. Alas, the line of recruits was growing short after a significant number has overtaken us as we remained stationary. Torchwick began to notice the two static recruits, he inquired closely and began to recognize us below our obnubilating disguises. "He sees us," whispered Sun, I might have to inculpate for his lack of alternative apparel as he was wearing the same Vacuan garb he wore that momentous night.

Continuing to examine the building, I found a fuse box that my intuition apprised me that it would temporarily unsight him and the members with deficient night vision from our tampering presence. "He can't see in the dark," I stated assuredly.

I removed my trusted Gambol Shroud from my holster and quickly aimed towards the fuse box before squeezing my trigger, shrouding the entire warehouse in near pitch-black darkness with a single blast of gunfire that was able to successfully penetrate the power source, effectively disabling it from its functions. The room echoed into the sounds of confounded cries of the muddled members trapped inside as we took advantage of the opportunity to make our escape from the hostile environment. Although there were a significant amount of faunus in the premises who possess the ability to maintain a clear perception even during darker environments, they unlike Torchwick, are unable to distinguish the renegade among them who were further obscured with the chaos that was occurring in the area.

We bolted towards one of the windows, one of the remaining light sources radiating effulgently on the gloominess of the building. I could feel my feet press through the solid ground hardly and repeatedly as we go nearer to the window as its increasing size indicated that we were coming close to it. On our way, I heard a technological resonance of a certain machine actuating that inexplicably indicated an awakening of a slumbering giant.

We leaped to the catwalk and hurled our bodies through the window's glass, shattering them to pieces as we collided against their fragile material. The atmosphere of the air made a noticeable shift as we found ourselves in the building's exterior while our feet once again met the solid surface after descending from the window. Shortly after we continue to rush away from the warehouse, its wall collapsed as the mechanical golem being piloted by Torchwick himself emerged from the building, spilling glass and rubble to the ground.

Proceeding to leap over a civilian vehicle to perch above a building, leaving a dent on its roof as we stomped on it with our aura-filled feet. We proceeded to jump and land from one rooftop to another, evading the rogue Atlesian mech as we traversed through the dense urban jungle with the wind guided us along our path.

It was now an appropriate time for the team to reassemble. Torchwick will not stop until we are silenced, and he will go to great lengths to achieve that objective. Team synergy was required in order to slay this metal giant. Torchwick must be stopped while we prevent him from painting the town red with the blood of innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

 **=o=**

1\. _Those years surely didn't make her a skilled writer. Although, she would make a better poet._

2\. _The same Atlesian Paladin model that General Ironwood introduced earlier in this chapter._

* * *

Since the whole Penny thing was at a halt and we didn't feel like taking another bullhead trip back to Beacon just to help Weiss, especially since we knew that she can take care of it herself just fine. We hung out at the arcade to pass time until the others managed to find something.

I managed to maintain the high score on the rail shooter that Ren and I completed a few times, only this time I beat the game solo. Speaking of shooters, Ruby managed to ace the virtual shooting range, getting several bullseyes under a single sitting. Since the games we player tested our skills, it was training to a sense, so we didn't exactly waste our own time just to entertain ourselves.

We left the arcade once it got dark. We still have yet to get an update from others, so we simply strolled around town sharing some stories.

"You serious?" she laughed at my stories about Nora's antics and how consuming soda made her go crazy around robots.

"Yeah, she thinks robots are finally rising up against their meatbag masters and they are about to overthrow us!"

She kept laughing until she suddenly stopped. "Does every robot have to be bad?" she asked. "What if there's a good robot? The ones who will stick on our side."

"I don't know, ask Nora. An idea of a robot uprising wasn't my idea in the first place." I replied.

"Jaune, this might sound weird but… could robots have feelings?"

Huh, she's right about that question being a bit weird. Don't know what made her ask that. She sounded strangely serious about the question though, her eyes still gazing at me as she waited for an answer.

"You mean become sentient? Maybe, if one is crazy and brilliant enough to make that happen. If you're worried about them 'growing beyond their programming', don't; the idea alone is just that silly. Robots have to be unrealistically intelligent for that to happen. Besides, Nora just came up with that because she was on a sugar rush, basically her typical craziness plus one. Robots going full rouge would need a virus vicious enough to violate all three laws of robotics, and that virus needs to be deliberately and carefully designed, you can't make a virus like that by accident. I don't think we have to worry about fighting robots anytime soon, aside from a few combat drones, maybe."

After telling her that, Ruby suddenly heard Blake's voice at her scroll and immediately picked it up.

"Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back—" Blake yelled the second we answered her call, making it no less obvious that she was alarmingly in distress.

"HELP!" Sun cried out in her scroll's background. "Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something! Hurry!"

The call was then cut off. "Okay, that's a manually-controlled mech so it doesn't count." I quipped to cope with the fact that the thing with the docks is going to happen again even though that was a stupid statement.

"Whatever that was, I am not missing this!" she said excitedly with a smirk. "Quick, we have no time to lose!"

We tracked down Blake's scroll and began running toward the destination, nevermind that we realize that it was too distant for us to reach. "Crap, they're on the highway bordering on the industrial district, that's miles away! We'll never get there in time!"

"I could, my speed can get me there in a jiffy! I could carry you with it, but it would slow me down and use more of my aura." she proposed.

"Any other bright ideas?" I asked.

"This is an urgent situation! I'm going to have to get there first. Sorry Jaune, but I think you're going to have to catch up!" she said before using her semblance to zoom to the top of the nearest building.

"Wait! What am I suppose to do then?!"

"You'll think of something, I know you can! Right now, my team needs me and I need to be as quick as I can! I'll see you later." she then hurled away with the wind, leaving me with nothing but trails of rose petals.

Great, now what? I asked myself. I didn't have any sort of transportation to travel there quickly. It was also a good opportunity to finally head back to the dorm and I would have taken it if not for the fact that I have a reputation to uphold; people would be asking me why I abandoned them if I did just that, especially since I involved myself in this.

So I continued to run toward Blake's location while thinking on how to get there as quick as possible. Looking around, I spotted a bicycle parking rack on the sidewalk across the street. I was hesitant to commit bicycle theft but what else could I do? Take the bus? Desperate times call for desperate measures. I hope the owner has insurance or something if I'm not able to return it.

I went to the racks and used my lock-picking skills to unlock one of them. I quickly got into the bike and started pedaling to Blake's location as fast as I could.

A few minutes had passed, I checked my scroll and saw that the entire team has already made it while their trackers are still moving around the highway, indicating that the chase was still ongoing.

I managed to make it to the western part of the commercial district. I kept pedaling my way until I saw a couple of VPD squad cars. I thought that they were heading to the highway since they were also heading west like I was, so I followed them.

But as good the idea was at the time, on hindsight, I really shouldn't have done that.

The cops led me to a bank where they suddenly stopped. One of the officers was shot as soon as he left his vehicle. The front of the bank was clouded with smoke where all the gunfire was coming. As soon as I saw this, I pushed the bike's brake and tried to turn back, only for someone to start shooting at my front, making me throw myself out of the bike.

I quickly crawled, stood up and ran toward the nearest cop car to get some cover. As soon as the shooting stopped, all of the cops were either dead or too injured to keep fighting. I peeked out as the smoke started to fade. Emerging from it were White Fang soldiers armed to the teeth—on the middle was a small feminine figure. Unlike the robbers, who wore standard-issue White Fang uniforms and visors, this one wore a Grimm mask that concealed her entire face while her hair was still visible at the back of her head, her hair was two-toned in color with one side brown and the other pink; she wore a white jacket with a brown corset under it with her waists slightly exposed, brown pants and white high-heeled boots that still made her look short.

Godsdammit, with all these White Fang encounters lately, I swear that I'm really starting to miss the Grimm, at least they're much less annoying to deal with. Where the hell is Penny when you needed her?

After thinking on what should I do, I unholstered my laser pistol and randomly began firing at the robbers, making them get to cover, while the short, fully-masked one just blocked the shots with her pink umbrella, I was only able to hit one of them down out of chance.

I tried running to the nearest alley, only for more White Fang soldiers to pop out from there, so I had to run back while shooting at them.

I saw that I was surrounded by White Fang bank robbers, so I had little choice but to get rid of them until help arrives.

I went back to the cop cars for cover while using my shield to block incoming gunshots. I then fired at two of the troopers, almost instantly putting them down thanks to the accurate, stopping power my trusty upgraded laser pistol. One of them started to dash towards me with daggers on both hands, she started to jump over the cop car I was at, so I put up my shield up and threw her to the ground once she put her foot above it. I began striking her with my sword while she tried her hardest to deflect them. Sensing a gunman behind me, I slipped to her back with my shield covering as the gunman started to open fire at me, only to gun down his comrade as I block the shots that got past her.

As soon as the dagger wielder fell, I charged toward the assailant and bashed his masked face with my shield before slicing him until he was down as well.

Two White Fang goons looked at each other—one of them a guy with a spiked steel club and the other a girl with a pump-action shotgun. They decided to approach me and tried to succeed where others have failed, unfortunately for them, I couldn't allow that to happen.

I parried the club wielder's attacks while simultaneously blocking the female trooper's shotgun blasts. When the gunner's ammo ran out and started reloading shells into her weapon, I sidestepped from her partner's vertical strike and bashed him with my shield before turning back to slash her, causing her to drop to the ground with her weapon. Afterward, I hear the other trooper cry in agony.

"That was my sister, you son of a bi—!"

Oh, shut up. You attacked me first—what the hell did you expect? I thought as I shot him with my laspistol mid-sentence when his guard was down.

Facing back to the bank, I saw three White Fang members backing out, grabbing the bags of money then fleeing. The short one without the uniform, on the other hand, decided to step in.

I pointed my gun at her and started shooting, which she just casually deflected it with her umbrella. My ammo clip ran out, so I holstered it back and expanded my shield. She pulled down her umbrella's canopy and started attacking me with her weapon. I blocked her initial attacks with my shield. I dashed back and went to strike at her, but she was too fast that she dodged every swing. She countered one of my attacks and started to push me back until she swept my feet, making me fall to the ground.

I kept parrying a few more of her attacks while lying down before she managed to swing my sword away from my grasp. She then stomped on my left arm, ceasing me from using my shield as she unsheated a blade from her and raised it to stab my face.

Before she was able to do so, a gunshot flew into her mask, knocking her back before a scarlet blur came to her and began to clash her weapon with hers.

I took a good look at the figure who saved me, it was none other than my partner—The Invincible Girl herself. "Pyrrha?"

"Hello again!" Pyrrha greeted as she was pushing her sword against the girl's umbrella before they both pulled back. "We'll discuss this later!"

I nodded at her and got to cover. I reloaded my laspistol as I peeked out and watch Pyrrha and the short bank robber fight. I noticed a red laser sight aim towards me before I leaned back and avoided the shot, I fired back at the sniper who was at the top of the bank, dispatching him with a single accurate shot.

On hindsight, I'm glad I warmed up my firing arm with that light gun game at the arcade earlier.

Looking back at the two girls. The short robber had her masked damaged enough, she threw it away—revealing a face that contained mismatched eyes that share the color of her two-toned hair. Above all that, I realized she wasn't a faunus, meaning like Torchwick, she's no regular member. I stepped in and assisted Pyrrha into dealing with this threat, forcing the short girl to change tactics and started spinning around her umbrella to parry both of our attacks.

She turned at me as we started to clash our weapons. She kicked her back which Pyrrha blocked with her shield. As I continued to parry her attacks with my sword, I began shooting at her legs, making her leap back as Pyrrha threw her javelin at her, she dodged it but it ended up hitting a bag of money being carried by a White Fang member, causing him to drop it and cower away.

The short girl then narrowed her eyes but then suddenly smirked. I readied my weapon and started charging at her since she was open and was just standing there. But after swinging it to her, her figure literally devolved into pieces of glass.

Confused, I stared at the shatter pieces that was supposed to be her body, wondering where she was. We then saw a Bullhead float above us, its passenger—the same girl we just fought—smiled and waved at us before she flew away.

I panted as I look around the area, finding nothing but bodies of police officers and White Fang troopers lying around. "Is that the end of it?" I asked.

Pyrrha was about to answer, but then she suddenly turned back, locked the wrist of a White Fang member, pushed him to the ground and aimed his hand cannon at him after swiping it. "I think it is now." she said.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked her.

"Nora calmed down and took a nap and Ren was keeping an eye on her, so I decided to check on my own partner, and found out that he was fighting bank robbers!" she said after tying down the last White Fang trooper, crossing her arms as she scowls at me.

"Trust me, I didn't exactly want to be here."

"You really do have a knack of finding yourself in trouble. I thought you were supposed to be helping Team RWBY in whatever they're doing. Not… this." she said as she gestured around the place.

"I was about to continue doing that until I got into this mess," I explained.

"Where are they now then?"

"They're in the highway, fighting a giant robot I presume."

"What?" she asked as if I was screwing around. Couldn't blame her, it's as incredulous as it sounds.

"I'm serious. This was supposed to be a simple investigation, then Blake and Sun called saying they were being chased by a giant robot with Torchwick in it. We all rushed to help, then I ended up here."

"An investigation? Torchwick? What is this all about?"

"It's a long story."

"And aren't these the bandits from Forever Fall?" she gestured to the unconscious bodies of the White Fang troopers.

"They're not bandits, unfortunately," I stated, struggling to keep my gaze at her.

"Jaune, could you explain to me what is going on?!" she demanded, obviously out of loop on these things.

"I'll have to do that later," I said as I spot and hear sirens approaching us from a distance.

A few squad cars arrived. Police officers then got out and started pointing their guns at us. "Oi! Hands in the air. Drop your bloody weapons!" One of them commanded.

I considered protesting and explaining that I'm not a robber (although I did steal a bike earlier), but I knew the wise thing to do was comply. I know my rights, and they aren't going to consider me a robber since I wasn't wearing a White Fang's uniform. Really, the only bad part about this was I couldn't go with my usual routine of looting enemy bodies.

I dropped my weapons and put my hands up, Pyrrha did the same.

"Wait. Pyrrha Nikos?" One cop realized who he was aiming to as he lowered his gun. "Sign my notepad please!"

She glanced at me, which I could only respond with a shrug.

"Oight, lads, calm down, they're not a threat." Another officer said to the others before turning at us. "But that doesn't mean you kids are innocent. You two still have some explainin' to do."

Here we go again. If I knew that I was heading to a bank robbery—with the fucking White Fang no less, I would have taken a cab back to Beacon and let Team RWBY (plus Sun and Neptune) **[1]** do their own thing; they were capable without me, why did I even go to the trouble of bothering to help? And why was the White Fang robbing a bank anyway? Last time I checked, they needed dust but not money.

Those girls better have some good news.

 **=o=**

1\. _Like Neptune mentioned earlier on his audio logs, they weren't able to provide an adequate contribution to the battle with the Paladin. See the excerpts below._

* * *

 _Editorial Note: Since since Jaune was unable to be present during the encounter with Torchwick's stolen Atlesian Paladin at the highway bordering between the Industrial District and the Commercial District of Vale, the event will be detailed by excerpts through Ruby's memoirs and Neptune's audio logs. For obvious reasons, Blake's accounts will be excluded, since their previous inclusion was already enough for one chapter._

Neptune's Audio Logs: Big Freakin' Robot!

 **Neptune:** After leaving that shady club, Sun and Blake suddenly called us saying they were being chased by a giant robot as those two coincidentally passed us.

 _(Audio cuts to Neptune and Yang after leaving the club.)_

 **Neptune:** Those guys really hate you, don't they?

 **Yang:** Well, they wouldn't have to if they were a little nicer before.

 **Neptune:** What exactly happened then?

 **Yang:** Well, here's the short version: I asked them for something, they tried to beat me up, I ended up kicking their butts. Let's just say the club remained closed for a few months.

 **Neptune:** _(Surprised pause.)_ Okay… that explains that.

 _(They got in Yang's motorcycle. After she started her engine. She suddenly heard Blake's voice coming out from the scroll.)_

 **Blake:** _(Scroll call)_ Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back—

 **Sun:** _(In the background of Blake's scroll)_ HEEEELLLLP!

 **Neptune:** Oh hey, it's Sun.

 **Yang:** Shush!

 **Sun:** _(In the background of Blake's scroll)_ Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!

 **Yang:** _(Responding at the call.)_ Where are you guys?

 _(Metallic stomps can be heard at the background.)_

 **Sun:** _(In the background of Blake's Scroll and somewhere in the duo's distance.)_ HUURRYY!

 **Neptune:** I think that was them.

 **Yang:** Yeah, I got it. _(Turns around her motorcycle then accelerated.)_

 **Neptune:** Whoa!

 _(Audio cuts to a couple or more minutes later.)_

 **Yang:** We've gotta slow it down!

 **Neptune:** Got it!

 _(Sounds of car horns and vehicles crashing.)_

 **Yang:** Hold on!

 **Neptune:** _(Screaming.)_

 _(Cars crashing.)_

 **Neptune:** _(Weapon twirling.) (Railgun blasting.) (Weapon transforming._ ) _(Grunts as he leaps to the Paladin) (Sound of a weapon penetrating a metal.)_

 **Sun:** _(In a distance, barely audible due to the traffic.)_ Neptune, hang on!

 **Neptune:** _(Screams as he struggles balance with the robot.)_

 _(Sounds of Sun's clones colliding with the Paladin.)_

 **Neptune:** _(Screaming) (Bump)_

 _(Both Sun and Neptune screamed as they both fall from the highway.)_

 **Sun:** _(Lands safely on his feet.)_ Ha! Perfect landing.

 **Neptune:** Oof! _(Lands on his partner.)_

 **Sun:** _(Grunts in pain.)_

 **Neptune:** Sun, are you okay?

 **Sun:** _(Painful moans.)_ My back…

 **Neptune:** Don't worry, bro, I still got your back.

 **Sun:** No, you moron—my back hurts!

 **Neptune:** Oh, sorry.

 **Sun:** Give me a sec _. (A few seconds pass as his aura heals him.)_ There, much better now.

 **Neptune:** Seriously dude, a giant freaking robot?!

 **Sun:** Hey, I'm just as surprised as you! I didn't know what we were walking into.

 **Neptune:** Okay, okay. You think we could still catch up to them?

 _(Audio pauses as they look at a faraway distance. They saw the Paladin fall and looks at their allies.)_

 **Sun:** You know what, let them handle this. It's their fight; I just dragged ourselves into this. This is just too much. Fighting Torchwick in that robot would be badass, but I didn't sign ourselves up for this. Innocent people just got hurt, man!

 **Neptune:** Wait, what? So, we're just gonna leave them?!

 **Sun:** They'll be fine. I've seen them fight, they could handle it. We'll just be a liability anyway.

 **Neptune:** _(Sighs)_ Whatever you say. _(Pause.)_ Man, I could use something to eat.

 **Sun:** I know a place; you'll feel right at home.

 **Neptune:** Hey… I just realized something. Where's Jaune?

 **Sun:** I have no idea.

* * *

The Red Rose Diaries: Fighting Torchwick at the Highway.

I saw Torchwick shove cars off as he chases Yang, and all I could do was watch and let Weiss use her ice dust to make him and his robot slip until he falls below the highway. All I could think of was the people he harmed because they were in his way, but I went to hold my emotions for the moment and focus on stopping Torchwick.

Everyone was already there and were ready. **[1]** We first used 'Freezer Burn' to create a fog out Weiss ice and have Yang crash on it. It gave us some time while Torchwick had trouble finding us at the fog.

I charged and hit him. I ordered Weiss and Blake to attack the robot at its legs while it has trouble trying to shoot them. Torchwick tried to stomp Blake, but Weiss pulled her with glyphs before that could happen.

Torchwick fired some rockets to them but they were able to avoid them. Thanks to Weiss' time dilation abilities with her glyphs, Blake was able to slice all of those missiles down.

Blake and I went in and attacked its legs again. When Torchwick tried to shoot me. We both jumped up and sliced off one of his robot's arm.

Yang then leaped to his back. Punching it until Torchwick launches himself to the highway's pillars until he managed to shook her off. This was a mistake for him, as it activated Yang's semblance. With that, she blew the other robot's arm when it tried to punch her. Torchwick kicked her, making her fly away. I got Blake to pull her back with her weapon's ribbon.

We needed to slow it down, so I fired several rounds of ice dust at Weiss' glyphs, creating shots powerful enough to freeze Torchwick's robot. Blake threw Yang at Torchwick, finally breaking his robot to pieces.

Yang tried to put him down once and for all with by firing a shot, only for some weird colorful-looking girl to come out and block it with her umbrella. Yang tried to charge and punch them before finding out she broke pieces of a mirror, with them disappearing. We then found them on a Bullhead, flying away, scot-free.

It looks like Torchwick has a new henchman, according to Yang.

We may have broken his robot, but he got away... and we couldn't save those people. Weiss tried to lighten the mood and it's not funny, even Yang called her out on it.

The police came, one of them was the detective from the docks. He said that we needed a serious talk. We couldn't find a reason to say 'no', after all, it's our fault why Torchwick hurt those people.

Could we have done something? Was it our fault that we made Torchwick hurt those people? I can't answer that.

I wish Mom was here, she would have known what to do.

 **=o=**

1\. _For those who are wondering how I got from Beacon to Vale's western highway so quickly, I bribed a Bullhead pilot into giving me a 'private emergency flight' and have him take me there as soon as possible. After I was already above the highway, I paid him and told him he was done before making my landing._

* * *

We all sat around the VPD's interrogation room in silence. The entire group, plus Pyrrha, was here. Sun and Neptune also came when they were called.

Tension was in the room as we waited for Professor Ozpin and Detective Huntley to return from their conversation outside. Ruby, on the other hand, looked disheartened, lacking her usual spirit and enthusiasm, I heard she was upset that they were indirectly responsible for the civilian casualties on the highway, and that they couldn't do anything to prevent them.

"Tell me, Jaune. Do you really have experience with examining records?" Weiss asked, breaking the silence in a furious, yet mild tone.

It appears that Weiss was not happy about us leaving her and forcing her to check her family's company records on her own, and I thought she was better off without us bugging her.

"Yeah, I used to work part-time cataloging books for a public library as a summer job. Tedious work but the pay was decent for my age at the time," I answered.

"That means…" she said before suddenly shouting and slamming the table. "You could have helped me! Do you have any idea how long it took me to analyze an excessive amount of records on my own?"

"Hey, you look like you have it all figured out, Ice Queen —your straight A's says it all. It's not like you wanted my help anyway." I shouldn't be verbally defending myself but I wasn't in the mood of being pushed around after recently having my life on the edge yet again.

"Just because I won't be happy about it, it doesn't mean that I don't need it!" she retorted. "And please stop calling me that!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

"Stop it!" Ruby cried out. "Innocents died and Torchwick got away with it. Now we're here to be questioned and you two are fighting! We need to stick together for now, it's why we're all even alive."

We were both taken aback by Ruby's grief. Not being able to save innocents really hit her hard. "She's right," I told Weiss.

"Don't..." she replied, looking away from me.

It was quiet again. Aside from the room ambiance, there wasn't another sound until the door opened with Professor Ozpin and Detective Huntley.

"You kids just can't stay out of trouble, can you? First the docks, and now this. It doesn't help that I was also informed that some of you have interesting backgrounds while being the most hectic students on Beacon this year," The detective remarked as some of us became nervous, with some of us chuckling anxiously. "Anyway, who started this unsanctioned investigation?"

Ruby and Blake both raised their hands before staring at each other.

"I assume that both of you started this?"

Blake tried to answer. "Actually, sir, I was the one who gave the idea of…"

"No Blake, it's my fault. It may be because of you, but I was the one who started this investigation," Ruby vehemently stated. "If I just chose to help you in another way, none of us have to be in here and feel guilty for those we weren't able to save."

Blake was shocked at her statement and tried to assure her. "Ruby, no one's blaming you for—"

"No! If we didn't interfere, Roman wouldn't have to chase us and hurt those who happened to be on his way. We really should have just let the police handled it."

I really felt sorry for her. I know what it's like to be guilty over things you have no control over. "Don't push yourself that hard, Ruby, you only did what you thought was the right team and you did it to help a friend. You couldn't have known that Torchwick would rampage the street with a stolen robot, none of us could have!" I consoled.

"But you came out a hero, I, on the other hand, wasn't able to get Torchwick and make him pay for what he did."

I did not respond, I just couldn't; I could only look at her in pity when she felt guilty because she was too selfless to see innocents suffer while she envies me for my supposed heroics while being oblivious of my selfishness. I would have left the bank for its fate, but I had to act out of self-defense because I wanted to preserve my life. Now people are hailing me once again, while the willing heroes are lamenting for their failure; they deserved better than this.

"Okay, so Miss Rose is pinning all the blame for this. But I'm not here because of what got you into nosing around the White Fang, but why this all started in the first place, and it appears that Miss Belladonna was the root of all of this," Detective Huntley said before turning to Blake. "Could you explain why?"

She looked down and slightly hesitated before answering. "It's because of my friend, Tukson, the bookstore owner who was murdered a few days ago. I believe the White Fang has something to do with it."

She was obviously lying and we all knew it, **[1]** but we respected her secret, including Weiss and surprisingly Ozpin, who just stood there and watched. It was best not to expose her previous affiliation with the White Fang, as we don't know what they might do to her.

"Ah, yes, we're still looking into that. But what made you think that the White Fang was behind it?"

"Because… he used to be with them," she answered, some of us were surprised, but Detective Huntley just cupped his chin, looking intrigued so far. "But he wasn't radical unlike the other members, he believed in equality and peaceful coexistence even if he had to resort a few extreme measures. But he realized that they were going too far that he left, which is why they hunted him down," she explained, wiping a tear. "You already know that he was once a member, do you?"

"Yes, we do. Recent evidence shows that he was indeed a former member when we searched his flat **[2]** , but that doesn't mean we're jumping to the conclusion that the White Fang murdered him because they want him silenced. We will, however, take that as a possibility while we carry on the investigation," he affirmed. "By the way, you knew he was a member prior to his death?"

"He trusted me enough that he told me everything because he knew his time would come."

"Were you two close?" he inquired.

"No, it's nothing like that. I was just one of the few people he trusted."

"I see. Thank you, Miss Belladonna. Now back to the recent incident. Why was Roman Torchwick chasing you with an Atlesian mech that wasn't even supposed to be available for its military yet?"

"During our investigation, Sun and I discovered one of their meetings. I passed myself as a faunus and snuck in. Torchwick then presented himself and showed him the mech, saying he got from his 'employer'. He eventually discovered us and the rest is history."

"Infiltrating the White Fang, huh? You kids have more guts than most of the officers in this precinct," he said before looking at the wall where the one-way window was supposed to be. "No offense."

Yang noticed this and smiled and waved at the invisible officers on the other side.

"So not only Torchwick is still with the White Fang, but he also under an employment of someone who could take hold of a weapon that's still in production. This is bigger than we thought it would be," he remarked before moving on to another subject, something that I was worried he'd bring up. "Enough about the Torchwick and the mech. How did you know about the White Fang's bank robbery while all of that was occurring, Mr. Arc?"

Well shit, here goes nothing, I said to myself as I cleared my throat. "When Blake and Sun were calling for help, we had to get there as soon as we could, so regretfully, I had to steal a random bike to get there quick."

Detective Huntley raised his brow, Ozpin was still as calm as before. Everyone, meanwhile was giving me looks mixed with shock and confusion, including Sun, who if I recall correctly, wasn't above stealing food.

"You yoinked someone's bike?" Yang questioned.

"Do you really think I wanted to do that?! It was a dire situation; I'm not happy that I had to do it. At least, that bike could still be returned." I defended.

"We're going to have to discuss that some other time." Detective Huntley said. "Please continue, Mr. Arc."

"Right. While I was heading there with my 'borrowed' bike, I saw some police cars and thought they were heading to the highway, but it turned out they were responding to a bank robbery prompted by the White Fang. I decided to stay there and stop them, knowing the others would handle Torchwick just fine." I told them, leaving the part where I tried to get away, only for the White Fang to stop me and force me into fighting them.

"What else did you notice during the robbery?" the detective further inquired.

"Well, there was this one girl. Unlike the others, who were White Fang members, this one was wearing a full mask. She was short, and when she took the mask off, I saw that she had mismatched eyes that shared the color of her hair, which was pink and brown. She used an umbrella to fight."

That caught Team RWBY's attention, but Detective Huntley was the first to respond.

"Hold on. A short girl that has a two-toned hair with mismatched eyes that were colored pink and brown and carried an umbrella? You're not talking about The Neapolitan Butcher, are you?"

"The Neapolitan Butcher?"

"Neapolitan? Isn't that—like the ice cream?" Yang asked.

"Correct, the name comes from her color scheme, which is the same as Neapolitan ice cream. She's one of Roman Torchwick's accomplices. Don't let that girl's look deceive you, she is one of the worst psychopaths who we still haven't caught simply because of how slippery she is,"

That explains why she was a tough fight. She could have killed me had not Pyrrha arrived

Detective Huntley faced the one-way window again. "Hey Dylan, could you get those files for me please." he then looked back at me. "Anything else I should know?"

"I think Blake and I saw her at the warehouse; she was beside Torchwick when he was showing off the robot," Sun added.

"That confirms that it is indeed her," Detective Huntley stated before turning back at me "Continue on where you left off, Mr. Arc."

"Pyrrha came in and helped me fight her off. It wasn't really wasn't easy, she was fast and tricky. She suddenly turned to shards and got away in a Bullhead."

"Shucks, she pulled that to us too!" Yang added. "Only that time, she used it to escape with Torchwick!"

"Must have been some sort of semblance that manipulates the target's view with an illusionary image," Weiss said. "Anyway, what were you doing there, Pyrrha?"

"Just went to check on my partner. Found him fighting bank robbers so I came in and assisted him," she answered.

"Yeah. Thanks again, Pyrrha. I guess owe you another one." I uttered.

"You don't have to owe me anything. I was just looking after my partner and leader." she beamed.

The door opened and a police officer came in, carrying some files on 'The Neapolitan Butcher.'

"Ah, thank you." Detective Huntley took the files as the officer left the room.

He put the file on the table, opening it and revealing a pencil sketch of her face and a few zoomed-in photos that barely showed her from various security cameras.

"That's her," Pyrrha confirmed.

"It wasn't easy to make a record of her—we could only cover some vague details while the rest remain missing. These are the only visual sources we have of her since no one was able to bring back any photos of her alive. There was an account of Torchwick calling her 'Neo', which is likely to be an alias. Aside from that, the only thing we know about her is that she's affiliated with Torchwick and is extremely dangerous. If you happen to encounter her again, I highly advise you not to engage her alone, or better yet, do not engage her at all. If you want to know how dangerous she is, she has killed _trained Huntsmen_ before. Trained. Huntsmen."

I gulped. I just happened to get into a fight with a homicidal psychopath and somehow lived to tell the tale, mostly because I was assisted by an undefeated champion, but just imagine if Pyrrha did not interfere.

Thinking about it, I think I've seen her stature before but I couldn't make my mind off it.

"Now back to the robbery," the detective faced me again. "Could you tell me why was the White Fang robbing the bank? I know they're no stranger to robberies but last time I checked, they didn't need the money, all they needed was dust. Lastly, why were they still wearing their uniforms when they could easily pose as regular criminals? One would assume that they were wearing White Fang uniforms to frame the group, but the recent interrogations and evidence proved that they were indeed the White Fang." **[3]**

"Your guess is as good as mine," I shrugged. How could I know what the White Fang are up to, I didn't even get much info on them lately.

The detective sighed. "Alright then. Now with that out of the way, Mr. Arc. As much as I want to be lenient with you since the aftermath of the bank robbery would have been worse if it weren't for your meddling, I'm afraid we still have to follow protocol and condemn all of you to disciplinary action." he said before he turned to everyone.

Oh Gods, I don't like where this is going, I internally remarked.

"Since you conducted an investigation on one of the most serious criminal organizations on Remnant without the approval of your superiors, and because of the repercussions you caused. All of you, are sentenced to community service with the exclusion of Nikos, as she was not part of the investigation, and her presence at the robbery is not accounted for."

We all looked down at guilt. It eventually had to happen sooner or later.

"Your duration varies on the degree of your involvement. Wukong and Vasillias have the shortest amount, only having three days of labor, given their minimum contribution; Arc will be given a week of service for bike theft, despite his efforts to reduce the havoc at the bank robbery that we do appreciate; Rose, Schnee, and Belladonna will be given ten days of service for damages and casualties they indirectly caused to the public on an unauthorized investigation. **[4]** Miss Xiao Long, on the other hand, would be given a special case, not only for her participation like the rest of you but also because of her interesting history..." he said as he pulled out his scroll and opened it to a database.

"Wait, so you're telling me that Yang… has A CRIMINAL RECORD?!" Weiss suddenly shouted.

I wanted to say I'm surprised, but then again her partner was an ex-member of an international terrorist group that I fought for three times now, and that very same ex-terrorist gave me a kiss on the cheek a couple of weeks ago.

"Well... it's probably just a few cases of underage drinking..." Yang nervously reckoned as she grimaced. **[5]**

"That and… speeding, reckless driving, disorderly conduct, vandalism, parking violation, illegal U-turns…" Detective Huntley said as he reads her record on his scroll.

Yang's entire team glared at her as Detective Huntley continues to read out her listed record of crimes and all she could do was nervously smile.

"…battery, assault, property damage, and of course, littering," he said as he finishes.

Wow, Yang, you've been going places. I think I feel less guilty about stealing a bike now.

"This is absurd! What's next? Ruby getting charged for stealing cookies?" Weiss fumed before she realized that Ruby was still at grief. "Oh. Sorry, Ruby."

"It's okay…" she responded in a low voice. It was still too soon for her.

"That would give her a whole month of service, while on probation. Meaning you would only do labor on Beacon's grounds. You are forbidden to visit the city until your penalty is lifted. If it was up to me or anyone else in the station, this would have been harsher, but Professor Ozpin made an agreement to the chief of police to make sure you don't fall back with your studies. You should be grateful, this is the most clement verdict we could give you with a record like that." Detective Huntley told her.

"That is bullcrap! There's gotta be another way where I could make it up to you somehow." Yang protested.

"Miss Xiao Long, I'm afraid I have to concur with Detective Huntley here." the Great & Powerful Ozpin finally stepped in and spoke after just standing there for a while now. "Laws are laws, and so long as they are fair and just, they deserve to be enforced. I may have pardoned you previously, but you will have to face the consequences of your actions this time around. This is a rather merciful verdict for a criminal record like yours. Either you accept this or spend some time behind bars. Worry not about missions, you can still participate in them since they count as service."

You know, Ozpin seems to have a lot of power for a headmaster of an academy if he is able to coax the police department like that, or he just that charismatic. Either way, who am I to complain if this meant getting us out of there with less trouble?

"This is freaking stupid…" Yang grumbled. "Fine. Don't expect me to enjoy this. I feel like being grounded again."

"I would also like to add that only Wukong and Vasillias will serve at city grounds, Team RWBY and Arc will only perform service at Beacon, where they would be safe from the White Fang since they would undoubtedly hunt them down for their recent actions against them." Detective Huntley added.

"Detective. Pardon me, but I could pay for the reparations. That way, we don't have to perform community ser—" Weiss tried to propose before Ozpin himself silenced her by raising his hand.

"Miss Schnee, while your offer is appreciated; I'm afraid that we decided that I will have to pay for the damages myself," Ozpin interjected. "You need to be disciplined for the recent chaos, even if you did not intend for any of this to happen. This is a deed we cannot let go unpunished."

"But—"

"This is not up for debate. You will all serve your sentences and think about what you've just caused and that's final." he clinched. With that, it shows that there was no way of bargaining our way out of our punishments and all we could do was face the music and accept our fates.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin." Detective Huntly said. "Alright, I think I'm done here. Thank you all for your cooperation. Try not to get yourselves into trouble again and please stop acting like vigilantes without the approval of your superiors." he concluded as he stood up. "Now, if you excuse me I still have to study the mech's remains. You're all free to go."

Detective Huntley left the room as Ozpin stood in the middle, looking at all of us.

"Students. I can neither say I'm happy or disappointed by your recent stunts. But I want you to take this as a learning opportunity not to provoke deadly criminals and organizations. The authorities, with the cooperation of fully-trained Huntsmen, are hard at work dealing with these types of threats every day, while you are all still just preparing. You may be skilled, but your skills may only be wasted if you are not careful enough; fortunately, none of you have died and you were given fair enough punishments for your lack of discipline. Even then, it does not change the fact that five civilians are confirmed dead and thirty-nine others are currently hospitalized as a result of your destructive curiosities."

We remained silent as he lectures us. Thinking of what went wrong and if this investigation was a good idea from the start. I, myself knew it wasn't, but I couldn't just leave when I said I'd help as it may strain any relationship I had with them when I need them backing me up at worst of times.

"Now enough of this, I believed you have all learned your lessons, but you still have to perform the services you are assigned with and think about your actions. Now follow my lead. We'll be taking the Bullhead back to Beacon."

We all stood up and followed Ozpin to the rooftop. As we were making our way there—I looked at Ruby, who was still looking down, feeling guilty for all the lives she couldn't save. I never liked seeing Ruby sad, she was like a sister to me, along with Pyrrha and Nora, so I went next to her and brighten her up.

"You know, Ruby. I wouldn't have stopped those bank robbers if you didn't bring me into your investigation. I know that there were people you couldn't save, but that doesn't mean you didn't save anyone. Who knows what would happen if I didn't go to the bank? You should look at the bright side of things, you don't have to always feel so guilty."

Ruby poked her head up and turned her head at me. I smiled at her to let her know that I was there for her. Without a word, she smiled back, getting my message.

Yang noticed me cheer her sister up. She went in and patted my shoulder. "You did good, lady killer."

I beamed at Yang with a nod. Ruby deserved to know that it wasn't entirely her fault and that no matter what, her friends are with her.

Now I know how my sisters felt when they see me dejected...

After this, I really need to stop hanging out with Team RWBY for a bit and focus on my team. I only went with them because I thought it would be a quick and simple search for information with no fighting, but it only put me on _Podunk 2: The Unwanted Sequel_ and gave my third strike to the White Fang. I really have enough of these that I'm starting to appreciate the Grimm and schoolwork.

So ends the second day of the second semester and I already feel tired.

 **=o=**

1\. _It wasn't entirely a lie though, Blake holds some friendship with Tukson prior to the latter's murder. While Blake truly didn't tell the full reason why she was after the White Fang, Tukson's death was one of her motivations for her investigation._

2\. _The Valish word for apartment while the term 'apartment' is usually reserved for higher-class units._

3\. _The White Fang was trying to raise funds for an operation that was considered confidential enough that it was even kept secret to the other divisions, including to their high leader. As for the latter question, it's likely that they simply did not bother hiding their affiliation._

4\. _Despite being a former terrorist, Blake did not hold a criminal record in Vale since she hadn't committed a single crime inside the kingdom or at least hasn't been caught committing one._

5\. _The drinking age in Vale was 18. Adolescents aged 16 are also allowed to drink under adult supervision. Yang was 17 at the time, and while she was not exactly a heavy drinker, she had a few accounts of drinking underage without an adult chaperone._

* * *

 _Editorial Note: Before ending this chapter, we will now look into the White Fang's perspective through one of their reports they left that details the incident in their point of view._

The White Fang Reports: Summary of the Assault in Vale

The human oppressors of Vale should start trembling in fear, for our day of retribution is coming close with each passing hour. The downtrodden people of faunuskind will soon rise as their champions liberate them from the shackles of tyranny as the streets of Vale will be cleansed of fascist filth.

But in order to achieve that, we must cooperate with some humans who share the grudges to those who oppress us. One such person would be Roman Torchwick, a crime lord under the collaboration of the district leader, Adam Taurus and a henchman of our mysterious backer. Many will find the collaboration from a human dubious, but we should remember that the enemy of our enemy is our friend, and Torchwick's contribution will help aid the future of faunuskind as he holds munitions necessary to achieve our objectives.

He said that through his superiors, he managed to get a hold on prototype battle suits that were still not available for the public, the Atlesian Paladin. How they were able to get a hold of these mechanized mobile suits was beyond our comprehension, but it did not matter as we finally have ammunition that could be the key to our success.

We introduced the Paladin to one of our recruitment meetings, administered by Fawkes and Torchwick himself. But we found that the meeting was being infiltrated by Blake Belladonna and one of the pets that accompanied her during the debacle at the docks a couple of weeks ago. Torchwick used the mech, not only to pursue them, but to demonstrate its abilities, and prevent her from interfering with the bank robbery that we planned to carry out shortly after.

Fawkes bought half of the recruits with The Panther Company on the robbery as an initiation, we were accompanied by Torchwick's companion, Neo, who is said to be the same person as 'The Neapolitan Butcher'. With the group's strength, it''s presumed that the robbery would be a decisive success.

And then he appeared.

The robbery was going well, we were able to grab hold of the funds needed we were aiming for the White Fang's upcoming operation for Mountain Glenn and VPD was unable to stop us. But alas came the blond Huntsman who was responsible for the destruction of the Forever Fall outpost and one of the assailants to our failures at the docks. He slaughtered our men, recruits and veterans alike until they were either dead or crippled. Only Neo and a few members escaped, those who didn't were detained or worse—killed.

We have finally coined a name for this human: The Valish Defanger. He is becoming an even worse wrench in our works that were only able to recover one-third of our objective at the robbery, meaning we still needed more lien if we were to carry out Mountain Glenn's operation in the future. While all hope is not lost, the ambitions of a liberated Vale is under a serious threat. The human responsible for this must be dealt with quickly before he ruins more of our operations.

On a related note, Torchwick was able to escape from the Huntsmen, but with the cost of the Paladin. Nevertheless, that was only one of the many battlesuits that are stocked at our armaments, and it only confirmed that they functioned as intended.

Some recruits have become disheartened at our recent failures, but we assured them that we will never give up and that we will soon gain the upper hand among the humans who think they could hinder our campaign because soon, our morale will ameliorate and we will be the rallying cry of every persecuted faunus on this wretched kingdom.

* * *

 **Finally, I thought it'll never end. This is why you should only write one fic at a time since you might never finish your other stories especially if you have an active life writing outside of these. Unless you happen to be someone like Coeur, who manages to keep a schedule and write several quality stories at the same time while being able to update fairly frequently, but that requires some dedication and LOTS of free time.**

 **You may notice that Jaune hasn't learned Penny's secret yet. Remember that Ruby was the only person Penny trusted, and even if Penny acknowledges Jaune as a good person, she doesn't trust him enough to share her secret with him. Plus, knowing Penny's secret a little too early would dramatically change the plot from my planned outcome.**

 **Also, if haven't noticed yet. The extras are now out, so far, it only has one chapter, depicting the event that started it all, I plan to write more of these because world-building and writing side-stories are fun.**

 **Welp, since you all know what the next chapter is going to be all about, better start polishing your shipping goggles, I think. (Or maybe don't because the shipping culture on this fandom, while undeniably fun that I have a few OTPs on my own, is kinda shite, it's more toxic than several nuclear wastes merged that I'm inclined to mock the hell out of it.)**

 **Anyways, that's it for now. I'm gonna go make some food.**


	8. Ladies' Knight

_Editorial Note: The next chapter will be focusing on the Freshman's Dance Night and the events leading up to it, which was first written three days after Team RWBY's investigation around Vale, starting at Friday's combat class._

 _And just for the record, this is personally my least favorite chapter of this extract from Jaune's journal during his Beacon times, I assume you already know why._

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Ladies' Knight**

* * *

 _"You've always been a charming one, White Knight. Your face just needs a little more red... Don't worry, you'll live long enough to see your own reflection."_

 ** _-Last words of serial killer, Marianne Philips, better known as 'The Demon in the Mirror'_**

After that night, I had to spend the last couple of days giving a few hours of unpaid labor to make up for the repercussions we caused during that night, which is basically detention since I only work inside the academy. It wouldn't have been that bad since all I had to do was work for a few hours inside the safety of Beacon had it not for the fact that word about my exploit was spread overnight with Nora gushing about it after I woke up the next morning, while berating me for not taking Ren and her to the bank robbery. But if anything, she should be glad she didn't because she wouldn't have to get sentenced to community service just like me. Pyrrha on the other hand probably did not get convicted because of her reputation and because she didn't really do much other than to knock down a few troopers and save my bacon from a four-foot multicolored psychopath.

It wasn't just her. Apparently, people here tuned in to the midnight and morning news and applauded me and Pyrrha for foiling the bank robbery, unaware of my sentence and the fact that my presence there was unwanted, while ignoring Team RWBY, Sun and Neptune's battle with a stolen Atlesian mech on the highway even if it did result in a few civilian casualties. **[1]** I kept hearing it for the whole day, with everyone I came across approaching me and talking about it, telling me and Pyrrha that we did a great job while all I could do was smile and spout some self-deprecating bullshit that I couldn't have done it without her help and cover my own ass.

Okay, it wasn't exactly bullshit; it's true that I really couldn't have done it without Pyrrha, but you get what I feel about this.

I had a feeling that my ignominious reputation as the Defender of Podunk was finally falling to obscurity, with everyone who brought it out forgetting about it five minutes after asking if I was him. Then I blew it by accepting to help out a friend for a task that was supposed to be a simple team investigation, following a peculiar girl for answers instead of checking records, stealing a stupid bike and going to the wrong way by following cop cars who I thought was heading to the highway. Now I'm on the godsdamn news again with my name spelled wrong as usual, **[2]** and journalists have been trying to visit Beacon to get my interview.

Wonderful, here I am in the spotlight again. At least no one was told about my minor act of bike thievery, Yang still hasn't lived that down yet.

Pyrrha is also affected by this because not only she fought with me, it was also one of the rarest moments where the Invincible Girl of Mistral fights outside the tournament. Of course, it was too good of a story for journalists not to milk, so it wasn't just my reputation that was enhanced. At the very least, I have yet to spot a paparazzi trying to get some juicy details about my personal life for some dumbfuck article only people with no life would care about.

On the bright side, I don't think I have to worry about who to look for to dance with this Sunday. That night kind of bought me and Pyrrha closer considering the stuff we had to deal with in its aftermath. That and I have attracted some girls who would kill to dance with me after hearing my supposed act of bravery.

I have to admit—after dealing with some missions within Pucelle and that aforementioned night, it's nice to feel the peaceful boredom of class hours again. Now I just need to enjoy every last minute of it until I get my first mission this upcoming Monday.

I sat beside Pyrrha at Combat Class after doing a few exercises with her before the sparring sessions began. She smiled at me and I returned the gesture, knowing how much we comforted one another when dealing with the pressures of being on a pedestal. It really showed that we do have some genuine partnership together and that we're paired up for a reason other than we just happened to be the first contact we made during the initiation.

I turned to check on Team RWBY. While they looked fine for the most part, they still appear to be recovering from that night. Ruby looked like she was back to her perky self, but I could still sense that she hasn't gotten over the casualties she wasn't able to prevent. Weiss was maintaining her composure while she was obviously infuriated that she had to do community service for ten days; Yang was doing her best not to show her displeasure of being banned from the city for a month in addition to her daily labor; Blake, meanwhile had it worst, she became much moodier since that night and appear to be lacking in sleep if her eye bags and the paleness of her skin did not give that away. She was occupied with her books, while she was always like that, it was blatant that she was trying to ease her mind after what happened that night.

I know they were resilient enough to handle this but I still can't help but feel guilty that they have to go through all of that while I get all the glory. Having to serve labor in which sentence was half long as theirs wasn't enough to make us even. If anyone deserved to be called brave aside from Pyrrha that night—it should be them. They courageously faced a wanted criminal on a highway full of innocents and almost won, but instead, they were still penalized for casualties and damages they barely had control over.

I sighed and just told myself to focus on the present. I noticed I was also sitting next to the Haven team whom I bumped into last Monday; I saw them in their combat outfits for the first time, since the last time I met them, they were in their Haven uniforms. They seem to be an okay bunch, despite being somewhat strange at times but that's probably just me, each team has their own quirks anyway.

"Man, all these exercising and team-building stuff is killing me. I think my legs are aching for some action." Mercury—the gray-haired one—impatiently uttered.

"Quit tapping your feet. I would hate for you to crack the floor and get us in trouble for it." His green-haired partner—Emerald, I think—told him.

"Relax, these floors are designed to both durable and repairable," he responded, making Emerald roll her eyes before turning at me. "Anyway, guess who we bumped into again."

"Well if it isn't Jaune Arc." A soothing voice stated. "Fancy meeting you again. It seems that you have been making moves a couple of days ago." I stared back at the beautiful raven-haired leader complimenting me, doing my best not to flush out of embarrassment at flattering and her mention of that fiasco. Pyrrha turned her head to see who I was talking to, getting Cinder's attention. "And Pyrrha Nikos herself is here too."

"Uh, hello there!" Pyrrha greeted as she waved to her fellow Mistralis.

"It's an honor to finally meet you face to face. We're Team Cinnamon from Haven." Emerald said as she stirred near her partner and started covering his mouth. "Well, we prefer to call ourselves Team CMSN, but Cinnamon is fine I guess. By the way, my name is Emerald. This right here is Mercury, and this our leader, Cinder, and our other teammate, Nico!" she introduced her team as the very latter leaned in and joyfully waved at us.

"I see." Pyrrha nodded with her hand cupped to her chin. "It's nice to meet you, Team Cinnamon."

Mercury struggled out of Emerald's grasp and glared at her for a second before turning back at us. "Hey, you two did great back there. Never was a big fan of the White Fang myself. What a bunch of losers. Seriously, how are they going to achieve equality with that?" he said while his partner just rolled her eyes with a coy smile.

"Thanks, I guess. Couldn't just leave when I knew I could do something." I told them as it is some sort of response they would expect from the Humble & Courageous Jaune Arc.

"How brave, I can see why everyone is hailing you as a hero." Cinder cooed. "Why can't Huntsmen be more like you?"

"You'll be surprised to know how many people said that to me," I remarked as I scratched the back of my had and tried not to show my embarrassment. "I just did what a Huntsman would do."

"And you certainly show," she said as we continue to stare at each other. I was too stupefied by this woman's beauty and flattering that it wasn't until Pyrrha cleared her throat that I stopped spacing out.

"By the way, it's nice to meet you in person, Pyrrha. We're huge fans of your work and we look forward to seeing what you have in store for the tournament." Cinder cooed as she turned to her.

"You won't be disappointed," Pyrrha said before huffing

"Alright, students." Miss Goodwitch announced, grabbing all of our attention. "As you know, the Vytal Tournament will begin within a few weeks, and that only qualified teams are allowed to partake in it. Henceforth, the qualifiers will now begin. While some of you are sure to be in the Tournament, you still have to prove if you are absolutely worthy to be eligible to the most renowned tournament of the year, for we are looking for students who possess remarkable ability to show the world the capabilities of the Huntsmen of tomorrow."

I turned to Pyrrha and nodded to each other, I then looked at Ren and Nora who was unusually distant from our seats, with the latter giving a thumbs up with both of her hands and the former simply giving a disposed look.

"So let us begin the matches and show me what you have learned these past months. This time, you will also be able to practice alongside students from other academies. Just remember that there is no competition as of yet. While you are to show your capabilities and prove your worthiness, you are still training. So please, keep these battles amiable while being as competent as you could." she said before she choosing the first participants for today. "The first match would be Oriana Sullivan and Sandy Graves of Team TOPS (Topaz) going against Lambert Forrester and Rusty Dalen of Team BFYR on a two-on-two match."

During the matches, I kept notes on the participant's fighting as usual—especially with the transfer students, who I hold little to no information about their fighting ability. Aside from that, I didn't remember that much since I wasn't invested in seeing who would win; I only cared about how I could win against them.

After a handful of matches, one of the last participants—Roy Stallion of Team BRNZ (Bronze) from Shade was getting dragged off from the arena after getting his butt handed by Sky Lark of all people. Yeah, you read that right; the very same guy who I remembered was the most timid member of Team CRDL.

"With that match, you are reminded to keep a distance from your opponent, especially if their weapon has a much longer range than yours." Miss Goodwitch advised to the crowd of students. "Since we are running short of time, we would like to reintroduce Miss Umi Hisakawa."

As soon as her name was called, we knew exactly how this was going to go. Once she started appearing to the arena, I noticed Brook Lane almost fainting at the mere sight of her.

"I see everyone seem to recognize her, save for the transfer students. Since you have all managed to come this far, you might finally be able to defeat her after she left all of you speechless at her introductory match. But before any of you will be able to prove that, she will have to be set up against an opponent who was already on par with her from the start, as they were almost never chosen for a single match so far when it was something we were all looking forward to."

Miss Goodwitch began facing toward my direction. I did my best to look calm while in a state of complete internal panic, until one reaffirming statement calmed me down in a matter of a second. "Pyrrha Nikos, would you kindly enter the arena?"

"Sure, professor," she said as she stood up.

"Good luck out there, Pyrrha." I nodded.

"I will, Jaune." she replied before stepping off from the seats and into the arena.

The two Mistralis silently stare at each other in the middle of the combat hall. The audience just sat by at the edge of their seats and gazed at the two warrior ladies, clearly anticipating for fast-paced action.

"You both know the rules. You are given 10 minutes to put your opponent's aura below 15% before the timer runs out. The match will begin…"

Blades resonated as they both unsheathed their respective weapons and went on their stances while keeping eye contact with one another as they wait for the professor's cue.

"…now."

When the match started, none of the two attacked; instead, they slowly circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Umi tried to startle her by feinting, but Pyrrha's amazing reflexes and discipline kept her unflinched.

Finding out that Pyrrha was playing defensively, Umi changed her tactics and abruptly threw blades from her fan. Pyrrha deflected them with her shield before noticing that Umi tried to sweep away her feet, making her leap back and began firing at her with her rifle, which Umi blocked with her fans as she walks slowly towards her. Pyrrha then changed her rifle to its javelin form and threw it at Umi, and since the javelin was too much for her fans to deflect, she jumped right away from it.

Pyrrha flew to retrieve Miló **[3]** and launched herself from the wall without touching the floor that would get her to lose by ring out. She changed her weapon to her xiphos mode before she used it to clash with Umi's bladed fans the moment she got next to her. The two fought in the center for superiority until Pyrrha managed to swipe away one of Umi's fans to the air. Umi didn't waste any time and leaped for her fan as Pyrrha changed her weapon back to a rifle and opened fire at her. Umi grabbed her fan at midair and used both of them to block off the gunshots as she descends towards her opponent. Pyrrha darted back before Umi got to the ground where she started spinning toward her with blades knives being thrown to Pyrrha. Pyrrha deflected the blades by spinning her spear, making them fly around the arena, even hitting the transparent holographic walls that protect the audience. Once she was done, she raised her shield from the flurry of slashes from Umi's fans and pushed her back and threw the shield at her. Umi was able to jump on the shield and flew toward Pyrrha and attempted to strike her down but she rolled forward and grabbed her shield before firing twice to her last ammo. Pyrrha changed her weapon back to its xiphos form for quicker melee and engaged her once again, only this time, Umi was struggling to block off Pyrrha's swift slashes.

Umi was getting overwhelmed. Pyrrha's agility made it near-impossible for her to counter, and her shield barely gave her an opening. I know this because Ren, Nora and I once sparred with her, and not once were we able to beat her in a serious match. But Umi wasn't giving up yet, having enough of Pyrrha's offensive she leaped back, waved both of her fans she as takes off towards near the ceiling. Both Pyrrha and the audiences looked up at her as she summoned a whole mass of blades coming from her fans, forming a shape similar that of wings, she threw all of those blades towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha ducked with her shield as a hailstorm of a hundred blades falls towards her.

Unfortunately for Umi, she was barely scathed. Pyrrha stood up both gracefully and vigorously, sweeping away the blades on the floor as she walks forward and astonished the audience on how untouchable she was. Umi landed back to the ground, she lost her calm demeanor displayed clear agitation towards her opponent. The last thing I saw was Pyrrha smirk before black outlines surround both her hands, as well the blades around her before they rose from the ground and began pointing at their former owner. Umi just stood by with a horrified look before Pyrrha launched them at her, draining all of her remaining aura to the red.

"Woah." I heard Mercury utter after the last blade penetrated Umi's aura.

"Impressive." Cinder remarked.

Umi was lying on the ground when the bell rang and lights came back on. "And that's the match." Miss Goodwitch announced as she went back to the arena.

Pyrrha was noticeably panting, not because of the fight but because of how much she used her semblance. She did tell me that it took some meditation to get ahold of and control her polarity and that the more metal she holds, the more aura it uses.

Nora stood up and hollered. "Way to go, P-Money!"

The auditorium roared with applause after witnessing the victory from The Invincible Girl. For Beacon students, it showed how amazing she was after beating a senior that haunted us since the first day of combat training. Pyrrha just smiled and waved around the arena before walking to Umi and offered her hand, which she accepted. The two smiled to each other and Umi gave Pyrrha a bow of gratitude as her fellow Mistrali returned the gesture.

"Miss Nikos, that was incredible! It is without a doubt that you will be in the tournament." Miss Goodwitch said.

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha nodded.

"You fought great too, Miss Hisakawa." Miss Goodwitch said to Umi. "You are dismissed. Miss Nikos, you may now return to your seat."

Umi bowed once again before leaving the premises as she fanned herself. Pyrrha went back sitting beside me a minute later.

"Pyrrha, that was great! I already know you are a great fighter but...wow!" I complimented. While it was not surprising given Pyrrha's record of being Goddess of Victory, I was still at a loss of words that it was the only thing I could say to her.

"Thanks, Jaune. Your support means a lot to me." she answered.

"Yeah," I said, restraining my own blush. "Just being a good partner."

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" Miss Goodwitch said as she looks at the audience before noticing a certain faunus who was still hooked up on her book. "Miss Belladonna?"

Startled, Blake abruptly shut her book closed and put her gaze to the Professor.

"You've been rather docile for the past few classes." Miss Goodwitch remarked, making Blake look away in shame. "Why don't you—"

"I'll do it," Mercury interjected as he raised his hand.

"Mercury, is it?" Miss Goodwitch asked as she adjusts her glasses before tapping her tablet. "Very well then. Mercury Black of Team CMEN from Haven Academy, you may now come down to the arena."

The audience began snickering as he stood up and went down, not only because of his team's name but rather because of how its unfortunately spelled. No wonder why they prefer being called CMSN.

"Students, I will not repeat myself; please stop this childishness at once! Might I remind you that none of you are on elementary anymore?" Miss Goodwitch growled.

The snickering stops. Mercury doesn't seem perturbed by it, in fact, he was just as amused. I cannot say the same for his teammates, who were covering their faces with their hands.

"I don't get it. What's so funny about cinnamon?" Ruby asked with confusion in her voice.

Oh Ruby, you poor little thing. You are obviously too pure for this godsforsaken planet.

"You'll understand when you're older, sis. For now, don't think about it and let's just see what's this dude's made of." Yang said to her sister.

"Now, let's find you an opponent." Miss Goodwitch said as she continued tapping on her tablet.

"Actually. I wanna fight…" Mercury stated before pointing at me. "Him."

"Me?" I gritted my teeth. I haven't fought on a sparring match since that time I have to fight all of Team CRDL. I guess I couldn't avoid the spotlight after what I did two days ago.

"Yeah, you." he confirmed.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Arc?" Miss Goodwitch asked.

Well, it's too late to decline this now. "Uhh, no. I'd be happy to oblige." I answered.

"Very well, then. Jaune Arc of Team JNPR will be facing of Mercury Black of Team CMEN from Haven Academy." Miss Goodwitch announced. "Please come down the stage."

The audience applauded and began chanting my name, with some of the girls screaming out of admiration. Laughter over the latter team's name could still be audible, albeit muffled by the cheering.

"You can do it, Jaune." Pyrrha nodded.

"I'll be fine Pyrrha, but thanks anyway."

"Good luck out there, hero." Cinder said. "I should warn you; Mercury may not be the brightest, but his skills are undeniable."

"I'll keep that in mind then."

I grabbed my weapons and stepped into the arena. I went to my stance as Mercury walks to his side, smiling at me before going on his brawling stance. The two screens displaying our respective aura meters began appearing as all but one of the room's light began closing down while both of our eyes mutually gazed toward one another.

By the looks of it, Mercury is an unarmed fighter who primarily fights with kicking—judging by the guns attached on his boots. Looks like I already know what to do. I hope this guy has happy feet if he wants to win this.

"Show him who's boss, Fearless Leader!" Nora audibly cheered.

"You may begin!" Miss Goodwitch announced.

Mercury lunged and attempted to kick me as I block with my shield and push him back, making him flip back to where he started. I chose not to use my laspistol yet as I didn't want him to recognize my strategy that early, so I charged at him with my shield on my front as he tried to shoot me down with it. I got near him as I kept blocking his kicks with my shield as I tried giving a few slashes only for him to keep dodging them around. I bashed my shield to him, pushing him back once again.

Well, this guy was tougher than he looks. I guess Cinder was right when she mentioned of his skills.

Mercury spun as he jumped, once again giving another kick that I blocked with my shield, I began doing my best of skill avoiding his series of attacks before I rolled back and readied my shield again as he to struck me with a flurry of kicks before I rolled under one of his kicks while collapsing my shield and grabbing my gun from holster. I aimed my pistol and fired at him and he began swaying away from the laser fire before giving a flying kick which I avoided by side-stepping.

I was now parrying away his kicks as he tried to shoot me with it from time to time. He managed to strike me back, which was when I decided to set my plan into motion. I aimed my gun at his feet which he started tap dancing as an attempt to avoiding the lasers I fired as I rushed in closer and slashed him with his guard suppressed.

Once I knocked him down, he spun as he recovered quickly and flipped back away at a distance. Twirling my pistol back to my holster, I raised and expanded my shield and lunged at him. Mercury gave a dropkick on my shield, fired a round that launched himself back. I raised my sword and began charging at him, but immediately stopped after hearing at his statement when he stood up.

"I forfeit." Mercury declared as he turned to Miss Goodwitch.

"What?" I asked in bewilderment after pushing my own brakes and halted.

"I underestimated you," he said after he faced me once again. "I can see why they are calling you the hero everybody is talking about. It's fun and all, but I don't really think I could beat you."

I just stared at him in utter disbelief. He was doing well that I'm sure he could defeat me, provided he had the right tactics and since I wasn't invincible like Pyrrha.

"If that's the case then I have to declare Jaune Arc to be the victor of this match. Marking the second time he won after his opponent declared themselves forfeit. Once again, a viable tactic in a hopeless fight, but I find your decision to forfeit to be very sudden Mr. Black; you still had a chance to defeat your opponent." Miss Goodwitch asserted.

"Eh, wasn't feeling it," Mercury responded. "Guy was leagues apart from me. I just wanted to challenge him for a bit before realizing he really was too much to me."

"Well then, I advise you to pick your opponents more carefully from now on."

"Got it, teach," Mercury said as he walks away.

"That is all for today." Miss Goodwitch declared. "And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Ah, yes the Sunday dance, which the way I saw it was a chance for students to celebrate and maybe get a date they never had before getting thrown off to a mission with a chance of actual death.

As I making my way out of the combat hall, I reunited with my team and Nora began gushing once again.

"Whooo! Jaune Arc strikes again! Oh, it's wonderful to see you fighting again, Fearless Leader! You did great too, Pyrrha! You really showed that geisha chick. I can't wait for us to finally go on our first mission and fight alongside with you guys again!"

I could only smile at Nora's enthusiasm, even if she was excited for an assignment with a chance of death that varies on how hazardous the mission is.

We were heading out from the hallway when I once again crossed paths with that irritatingly alluring leader of Team CMEN.

"Why, you certainly don't disappoint." Cinder remarked. "I can see how both of you are the most talked-about freshmen in this academy. The Goddess of Victory and The Hero of Podunk, one who recently stopped a terrorist's robbery. You are shaping to be the freshman team of the year."

I was only able to stare at her, stupefied at her astounding beauty. "Oh boy, do we ever! The untouchable beauty, the bravest knight of them all, and the bestest of friends ever!" she said as she started hugging Ren at her side. "You might as well start calling us Team Awesome! Scratch that, we ARE Team Awesome! It's our second name! Don't care if it's not a color nor a name formed with our first letters. We're Team Awesome!"

I snapped out of my paralyzed state and was about to respond before Pyrrha came to my front and spoke on my behalf. "We appreciate your support very much. But for now, we got to go. See you later!" she said as she began dragging me away, with Ren and Nora following us as Cinder waved at me.

I did not bother asking why Pyrrha abruptly dragged me out as if she doesn't want me talking with her since I know that she would not rather talk about it.

"Pyrrha's jelly!" Nora said, which Pyrrha only responded by rolling her eyes. "Oh don't worry. It's understandable. I would have done the same thing if she tried to flirt with Ren. Who does she think she is that she could just take Jaune away from us?"

Well, whatever Cinder is planning with me, I really couldn't answer that myself.

 **=o=**

1\. _If you read the excerpts from the last chapter, you'll know that Jaune's description of that event was inaccurate, since while the chase did happen on the highway, the battle actually occurred below it, with both Sun and Neptune being out of commission early. And the reason why no one approached us about the incident is that there was barely any footage that shown Team RWBY engaging the Paladin, and the eye-witnesses' description of everyone involved were vague. Also, Headmaster Ozpin persuaded the VPD to keep our identities anonymous, the same unfortunately cannot be said for Jaune, due to testimonies from several police officers and civilian witnesses confirming his and Pyrrha's presence at the bank heist._

2\. _Jaune's name is usually misspelled as "John Arc", due to how little reference journalists possessed aside from its pronunciation._

3\. _The name of Pyrrha's weapon, that is paired with her shield, Akoúo._

* * *

Leaving the hallway and into the school's campus, we were met with the friendly face of Neptune, behind him were two boys—who I correctly assumed to be his teammates.

"He-hey, look who's finally here!" Neptune said. "Jaune Arc and Pyrrha freakin' Nikos herself. The badasses of the week!"

"Good to see you again, Neptune. How have you been doing this past couple of days?" I said.

"Pretty good. Community service's not that bad. Met some lovely chicks on the streets while I was at it."

"And his supervisor yelled at him and told him to get back to work." the green-haired one said.

"Yeah…" Neptune embarrassedly scratched the back of his head. "So anyway, these are my teammates; Scarlet and Sage," he said gesturing at the two, who looks just as boyband-ish as their teammates.

Scarlet was the red-haired one with the Albionic accent who has markings on his left eye, and had his red coat draped around over his left shoulder, wearing it as if it was some cape, while somehow not slipping or falling off **[1]** ; Sage was the dark-skinned, green-haired, shirtless, muscular man in an imposing stature clad in an unbuttoned longcoat while wearing no shirt underneath it, therefore, exposing his abs just like his leader.

"Together, we're Team SSSN (Sun)! Triple S's, and an N at the end, which by the way, is yours truly."

Look at that, another Team pronounced after their leader. It must be confusing to determine who's leading it if it weren't for one of their names. "Pretty weird being the only one whose name doesn't start with an 'S', don't you think?" I quipped. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you Scarlet, Sage. You already know me and my partner, this is Nora and Ren. We're Team JNPR."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Scarlet said. "I heard many great things about you. Is it true you stopped the bank robbery the same night you, Sun and Neptune got in trouble?"

"Yeah, that was me," I confirmed with a hint of shame. "I still couldn't have done it without Pyrrha's help."

"Don't mention it." Pyrrha nodded.

"You're really THE Pyrrha Nikos?" Sage said. "It's an honor to meet a warrior like you. How are you liking Beacon so far?"

"Thank you." she responded. "Beacon's great. The people here are very thoughtful, and my teammates are very supportive."

"That's good to hear. Even champions need to settle down, it's nice to know you're making yourself comfortable while trying to hold such record." Sage said.

"Indeed." she nodded.

"A world-renowned champion and a recent breakout hero. My-my, what a combination." Scarlet remarked. "I'm sure your two other teammates are no pushover either."

"Believe me. They're far from that." I commented.

"That's right! Anima's number one duo is behind Jaune and Pyrrha." Nora said as she put an arm over Ren's shoulder. "With his bravery and her strength and our undying friendship, we are nigh-unstoppable."

"It's true. While we are already remarkable from the start, Jaune's leadership has made us a force to be reckoned with." Ren added.

I could only smile at Ren's commendation. Too bad, it's only because I was smart enough to be pragmatic.

"You made yourself a good team, Jaune. Not saying Sun is a bad leader, but he could certainly learn a thing or two from you," Sage said.

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure."

Sun then walked in and reunited with his team, looking pretty distraught.

"So how did it go?" Neptune asked.

Sun groaned. "No luck. She's being much crankier than before. I thought she'd cheer up after the investigation that day but I think it made her worse. This is the first time we spoke since that night; I haven't seen her much since then."

Sigh, Blake still hasn't let go of Torchwick and the White Fang. I'm really worried about her. Her restlessness will soon be the end of her. Someone really needs to get that cat to settle down.

"It's fine, Sun. Maybe she's not in a good mood. You'll get her tomorrow." Neptune reaffirmed.

"Yeah, but she said she's not interested, and I don't think she'll be coming to the dance."

"Well, that sucks. Here's hoping she'll change her mind then."

"Yeah…" Sun uttered before turning to me. "Hey Jaune, how are you getting along with my team?"

"Pretty good. Quite the team you have here." I said.

"Thanks. I appreciate having these dudes on my back. Been working my butt off to making ourselves a functional team."

"Burdens of being a leader," I replied.

"You got that right." Sun chuckled. "Hey, could you please try helping out Blake when you get the chance? She really looks like she needs help."

Trying to help a troubled Blake, part three. Here we go again. "Can't say no to that. I'm worried about Blake too."

"Good. Anyways, I think we should go now. It's our last day of community service and we'll be done sooner if start now." Sun stated. "You still have yours to worry about, right?"

"Yeah. Speaking of which; what can you tell me about the work they put you up with?" I asked.

"Eh, we've been mostly sweeping the street, occasionally they would send us to help out with the highway repairs," Sun answered. "But cleaning the streets gave me an idea. Once we get our first mission, we'll be no longer cleaning the streets from grime, but we're gonna clean the streets from crime. Team SSSN, Police Squad!" he puts his fists on his waist and posed buoyantly.

If that happens, I hope you don't end up investigating your own thefts. Solving that case would be awkward.

"Cool. Well, Professor Peach needs me and Team RWBY to clean up the dust lab for today, so I'll be sure to check up on her while I'm at it."

"Great! See ya' later." he said as he and his teammates turn around and left.

"You too! It was nice knowing your team!" I said to him before facing my team. "Yeah, I really need to go to the dust lab, they're expecting me after classes are done."

"Well, good luck then. Just remember we have training later, so don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Pyrrha reminded as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"I won't forget," I reassured her before walking away. "See you!"

As I separated myself from my teammates, I headed straight towards the Dust Lab which was on the other building. Upon arriving, Professor Peach was waiting for me and Team RWBY was already there. Ruby was sweeping off particles, Weiss was organizing the dust, Yang was washing the vials, and Blake was wiping the tables clean.

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Arc. As you see, the dust lab has been a mess after the recent experiment by some of the teams. Suffice to say, that experiment was unsuccessful."

This is probably one of the reasons why Dust Studies is my weakest and least favorite, even though I learned to appreciate the use of the dust this past week. "Was anyone hurt?" I inquired more out of curiosity than concern as I looked around and saw a wall that has a huge black scorch mark with the middle being untouched in the shape of someone's figure. After seeing that, my question was more or less answered.

"As you could see, the students responsible are currently at the infirmary. Some are just there to be examined for possible infection, but for the others…" her voice "You already know that experimenting dust can be very dangerous without proper procedure."

"I see," I gulped for a second. "What am I supposed to do for now?"

"You see that wall over there?" she said, pointing to the scorched wall. "Here's a sponge and a bucket of water. You know what to do."

"I'll get to it then, Professor." I nodded as I took the utilities needed to clean the wall.

I went over the wall and looked at it for a few seconds. I removed my gloves and began scrubbing away its burnt marks. The black stain was arduous to remove that it took a ridiculous amount of scouring to remove it, keep in mind that this was one big mark which would have been a bigger pain if the unfortunate idiot didn't stand there and indirectly helped me by blocking a portion of the wall.

As I was in the middle of the process, my hands were already sore from the firm scrubbing. Ruby passed me by, sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey, Jaune."

"You okay?" I asked. I can tell that every time she's doing labor, she's thinking about the civilians she couldn't save that night. She came to Beacon to make the world a better place, and it's no mystery why she's upset about those people."

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"So, how's Blake?"

"Not good. She barely ate and slept, and has been shunning us away every time we tried to tell her to knock it off."

"Torchwick and the White Fang still bothering her?"

"I think so. It's been driving her insane. I thought those feelings would go away after we tried to help, but it looks like she's gotten worse. Every time we're done with our work, she would often sneak out to continue her investigation with or without our help. Even though Professor Ozpin and the detective told us to lay low since the White Fang could be looking for us. I don't think she's going to give herself a break until all of this is done."

I sighed as I shook my head. "It's going to take a while for Torchwick and the White Fang to be put to justice. The police said they're doing their best to take them down. I take it Blake's not going to the dance?"

"Probably not. She refused to participate in anything. The only thing that could cheer her up is her books. I really want her to go to the dance; it's a chance for her to settle down since I think we're getting close into finding out what the White Fang is up to." she said before looking at Blake, who looked frozen before realizing that her eyes were shut. "Speaking of which."

"I'll go talk to her," I said as I put the soap down.

Ruby went back to sweeping the floor as I went to approach Blake.

"Blake?"

Her sleep-deprived eyes immediately began blinking open as she turned to me. Though, they were noticeably struggling to stay open. "Oh, hey. Do you need something?" she weakly asked.

"Nothing really. Just making sure you're alright."

"I'm fine. Now just leave me alone," she said while she barely made any effort to hide her fatigue.

"No, you're obviously not." I asserted. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"Jaune, please. You have done enough for me as it is and I appreciate it. Now please, just go. I really need some space."

"Come on, Blake, you've been pushing yourself for days now that you can barely keep yourself awake. Maybe, you need rest for once."

"The White Fang doesn't rest, Jaune." she raised her tone. "They won't stop until they get what they want. So if I were to stop them then, there's no reason for me to rest either."

"Blake, you're not the only one who can stop the White Fang. Just let the police take care of it, they're trying their best to—"

"They don't know the White Fang like I do!" she suddenly yelled. Making all three of her teammates in the room put their attention at us. "At best, they'll only just slow them down for a small margin, and even that will take too much work for them!"

She puffed as she glared at me while I remained aback at her sudden outrage. After a few seconds she took a deep breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry. It's been a stressful week. I just can't afford to let the White Fang make bad names for us faunus every passing second."

"Blake..."

"Please just leave me be."

I guess at this point, the White Fang has affected her drastically that there is no way to change her mind. "If that's what you want," I said before going back to cleaning the wall.

She can't keep acting like this forever though. Blake will eventually have to give in and stop being adamant about this investigation. I don't think I'll be able to convince her now, so I'll just leave everything for nature to do its magic.

In our favor, hopefully.

 **=o=**

1\. _He does remove it during combat, however._

* * *

Blake's current issues crossed her off as one of the candidates I've considered partnering with on the upcoming extracurricular. Which is a shame because I want to use this opportunity to get to know her better and be much closer since we didn't talk much last semester aside from its last day. I'm still trying to decipher why she even kissed me on the cheek that night.

This leaves Pyrrha to be the only logical choice to be my date at the dance; she was the first person to come out of my mind when looking for someone to be paired with anyway.

Cinder was my second choice, but I'm not really comfortable dancing with someone who's into me because of my fraudulent reputation. Oh, who am I kidding? Anyone who's even interested in someone like me was because of my fraudulent reputation. Not to mention, a girl with the looks of her all but says that she is already taken.

Ruby would have been fine if she didn't look like much of a jailbait and I don't want everyone to start thinking I'm a creep who looks like he is trying to take advantage of the youngest girl in school. Plus, she's probably married to her scythe—which could be why it has the same last name as her, and I'd hate to be a home-wrecker. **[1]**

Yang's a ton of fun, but I doubt that anyone who dated her has lasted for more than a week. That, and she looked like she'd pass as one of my sisters, making it too awkward to be romantically involved with her. It's pretty much why I don't usually date fellow blondes. Yeah, I know that three of my sisters are brunettes, but that's a little different.

Weiss is out for obvious reasons, and even if I'm interested in her, it's pretty clear how she would respond. Seriously, what good am I to her? I already blew my last chance by not helping her out last Tuesday, and she'll be too busy being lovestruck on pretty boy Neptune anyway. Not to mention, I can sense that some people will paint me as the worst person ever and want me dead just because I asked her out for whatever dumb reason. Wouldn't want her army of white-knights to come after me.

So it's pretty much decided that I'm going with Pyrrha. I still have a lot to make up for her, so this is my best chance. I'll ask her once I'm finished training with her.

Sparring with Pyrrha has been informative as always, as we get to learn about each other's fighting styles which cannot be obtained the same way by just simply watching. Being the Invincible Goddess of Victory she was, I still was not able to beat her in a straight-up match even if she does hold back. Her attack patterns cannot be predicted and even if you somehow managed to do so, she still barely gives you the chance to land a hit on her.

So it was no surprise that I lost to her again.

"Splendid fighting, Jaune!" Pyrrha complimented as I helped myself up and dusted off my hind "You're doing great as always. You definitely won't be having any trouble with your first mission."

"You never get tired, do you?" I playfully remarked, wiping away my own sweat. "Thanks, but I could have done better."

"Oh, don't be like that," she said. "You're an amazing fighter; everyone can see that."

"I know, but I felt like missed something."

"You're not missing anything, Jaune. In fact, I think you were getting close to beating me. That's not something I say every day."

"Well, you were holding back, so I could get the chance to beat you—but you didn't have to, I won't be able to beat you anyway."

"What are you talking about, Jaune? I wasn't holding back. Sure, we weren't allowed to use our guns and the match was purely melee, but I fought you with all my might and you still did well against me. Are you saying you're not good enough?"

"I…" I hesitated to answer, glancing at my side and looking for a way to change the subject in trepidation.

"Jaune…"

"No, it's not that Pyrrha. I think I just lost focus because there was something I've been aching to tell you." I answered as I changed the subject. I don't want her giving me any undeserved comfort, so I'll just get to the point.

"Well, what is it then? I'm listening," she said, leaning closer.

Here we go. This shouldn't be much of a problem, given that I have asked girls out before and Pyrrha wasn't any different despite her social status. I've been with her long enough to know that things will be fine. "Will you accompany me to the dance?"

Her eyes widened as her face flushed while she glancing at the ground, cupping her chin before coming with an answer. "I'll be glad to."

"Oh, so great. I think we can get back to business now." I said, shrugging off all of the potential awkwardness seeing as I finally have the answer I needed.

"Yeah, but…" she uttered. "That was a bit sudden. Not saying that I'm embarrassed by it or anything. I just… didn't expect you'd ask me out. I mean, nobody has asked me out before."

While I knew she hasn't been taken yet and that she would have told me if she was or I could have at least found out, I was rather bewildered at that revelation. Normally, with a girl like her, I expected her to have been asked at least once. "Why is that? You're Pyrrha Nikos. Guys would literally throw themselves for you."

"It's because…" she stuttered before she exhaled and shook her head. "Never mind. It's nothing important. I think we've practiced enough. We already know that we're ready for our first mission."

I just stood there and stared at her, processing what she was implying earlier. "So… we're done?"

She nodded. "We have done everything we need. Keep up the good work and maybe we'll finally unlock your semblance."

I chuckled. I kept forgetting about that until someone mentions it. I've been here for months now, and I still don't have a semblance. Oh well, maybe I'll get it soon enough. Thankfully, I could live without it, seeing as I'm able to be prepared for just about anything.

"You're coming with me?" she asked.

"No, I'll catch up."

"Okay then." she nodded before turning back and headed to the exit. "Later, Jaune!"

I took a deep breath as I watch her leave the rooftop. After she was gone, I continued to space out, just enjoying my time alone and mumbling that I was able to ask Pyrrha out that easily. Even if I managed to successfully ask girls out previously, I still can't help but feel anxious. Thankfully, the dance itself won't be much of a problem for me; I already attended enough social events to know what to do.

I decided to call Viola out for some advice. So I pulled out my scroll and contacted her for a video call.

"Ah, Jaune. You finally called." Viola greeted as soon I saw her face on my screen.

"Evening, Vi. Looking fine and dandy as usual. I could smell your perfume by just looking at you." I snarked, my nose picking the memory of her fragrant scent.

She chuckled at that. "Yeah, that's how fabulous I am." she snidely replied. "How are you doing there? Did you finally found someone to dance with?"

"Yep." I popped.

"Oh. So, who is the girl in question?" she asked with blatant curiosity.

"I think you already guessed who."

She paused for a moment before realizing who it is and started squealing. "I knew it! Our baby brother is finally becoming a man!" she cried out before turning to her left. "Hey Rouge, Jaune finally asked Pyrrha Nikos out!"

"He did? Ho-lee shit!" Rouge said in Viola's background before she appeared in my screen shortly after our elder sister called her.

Dammit, Vi. You really had to tell her, didn't you?

"You fucking did it, lil' bro! You're still a huge dork to me and will always be—but man, you're finally getting in with the freaking cereal girl."

"Rouge, please calm down. I only asked her out for the dance as partners. I'm not dating my 'cereal waifu' or anything." I told to her.

"That's still a score for you! Might want to start showing your _sword skills_ and I'm not talking about the Crocea Mors." she perversely suggested.

"Rouge!" I yelled. You think after enduring almost my whole life with Rouge that I would have gotten used to her juvenile humor, but she always finds a way to be annoying and succeed.

"C'mon, Jaune-Jaune. There's nothing to be ashamed of here. You're living the dream of every horny boy—and maybe some girls—who watched the amazing Pyrrha Nikos; you should consider yourself lucky." Rouge said.

"Except its nothing like _that_ ," I told her tensely. "This is only for the dance, which is only this Sunday. I just want to use this event to know my own partner a little better since I'm stuck with her for my entire stay here."

"So you're saying that you consider dating her after you're done with that?"

I gave up and slapped my increasingly red face with my free hand. No point in trying to sway Rouge's thoughts given it's too full of chaotic mischief.

"Okay, that's enough, I think you've embarrassed him a little too much," Viola said. "So, you still have the suit I sent you?"

"Yeah. It still fits me like a glove. Still brings some disturbing memories, then again that was a satisfying night." I said as I winked at Rouge, who responded with a smirk. "Hopefully, this upcoming night will be much more sincere than that." **[2]**

"Don't worry; I'm sure she's far better than that." she reaffirmed.

"Good point," I said. Pyrrha was just too much of a saint to be compared to that conceited bitch.

"Now, you also have the other thing that came out with it?" she asked.

Right, that. "Yes, and it was unnecessary on your part. I'm pretty sure Pyrrha won't have any trouble finding something to wear. Hell, I think she already had one right now."

"Oh, it's not that. You know what is that for~" she teased as she gave the same grin she sports when she gave me a gender-inappropriate makeover.

Oh for crissake. This again. "I see. It's a shame that I have no reason to humiliate myself in public with it." I quipped. "Would have worn it for a lost bet, but I'm not a gambling man."

"I didn't say you have to embarrass yourself. Just giving it to you for old time's sake. Be sure to send us a picture of you wearing it."

"I'd rather eat my own head, thank you very much." Sorry folks, but the graceful beauty of Jane Arc will not make a comeback any time soon, probably never.

"What a shame. You're becoming less fun since you've attended. What's Beacon doing to you?"

"Frankly, I really don't know. My thoughts are giving me mixed messages about this school."

'Well, if you're not dressing yourself up. I'm bringing your album and I'm showing it to your friends—when I finally find it, at least." Rouge said.

"If you do, be sure to burn to the last two pages. You can keep the rest and embarrass me if you want. I have been through worse, you know."

They all lost their smiles and all semblance of joy suddenly disappeared after my last statement. "You didn't have to think about that, Jaune," Viola said.

"I wish I didn't," I said, doing my best to preserve my composure. "Let's forget about that, shall we? After all, it's the last thing we want to bring up. So, any advice for the dance?" I asked just in case. Viola was engaged recently, and if anyone knows a thing a two about romance aside from Dad and Bleu, it's her.

"Just be in your best behavior. Aside from that just be yourself. I think you got it all figured out; it's not as bad as dating, it'll be a walk in a park for you.

That's it? I should have thought that, and I wouldn't have to this call in the first place. Last time I had a formal dance was at Bleu's wedding, so it's been a while that I almost forgot it wasn't actually that hard. Oh well, it was nice talking to my sisters again after days of leaving home.

"Don't listen to her. Go nuts and make some fireworks on that joint; huntresses love that shit." Rouge childishly proposed, making Viola roll her eyes from her.

"I think I already have everything I need to know," I said.

"Very well. Just make sure to take good care of her okay? Celebrities like her tend to be tired of the weight they're carrying."

"I will. Thanks, Vi."

"Best of luck out there," she said with a warm smile.

"Ey, you know who to talk to when you're feeling down, okay?" Rouge said as she cuts in; this time, lacking her typically smug tone in favor of affirming sincerity.

I smiled at her closing statement. "I won't forget that," I said, nodding as they smiled back and ended the feed.

I puffed as I put my scroll back to my pocket and headed back to my dorm. It's reassuring that my sisters still have my back in times like these. They may enjoy tormenting me because I'm their only little brother, but they're still my sisters first and foremost.

When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was Nora standing on the way, grinning, just like I predicted.

"Yeah, Nora. I get it. We're going to the dance together as a team." I said. It's not even an intuitive guess that Nora would be partnering with Ren this Sunday; anyone who possesses a single brain cell already knows that.

"Does that really mean Arkos is happening?" she asked excitedly.

I wasn't able to answer since I was dumbfounded at the anomalous term. "Arkos?"

"It's your last name put together with Pyrrha's! Isn't it clever?"

"Well, it's more creative than 'Renora', if you ask me," Ren commented, who was busy reading something with the Yin & Yang symbol at the cover. Pyrrha meanwhile, was just sitting on her bed, eavesdropping while she nervously smiles.

I already knew what that was all about. I would have remained stupefied and oblivious by it had not I familiarized myself with portmanteau couple names through Viola's terrible taste in literature.

"Oh, hush now, my dear Ren," Nora said to her partner before turning back to me. "You made a great decision by choosing your own partner instead of any of those role-players from Team RWBY. Now, Team Awesome will be together forever!"

As much as I hate to ruin her fun, I don't want her getting her hopes up for this. "Slow down, Nora. I'm only asking her out for the dance, but I'll promise that I'll keep this team together as long we're here, you understand?"

"Okay then!" she nodded. "Just make sure you give her what she deserves, Fearless Leader!" she then skipped back to her bed and began conversing with Ren.

I began to go to my desk and went to study my notes and update this journal while glancing to Pyrrha from time to time. Every time we made eye contact with each other—we couldn't help but blush, as we still could not believe that we partnered with each other.

I overheard Ren and Nora talking about the animal code words for their team attacks since the portmanteau naming gave them an idea to theme their dynamic to something. For some reason, Ren suggested a bee's buzz as their signal, but Nora doesn't seem to like that.

"Ugh, Ren, I don't like bees!" Nora groaned, pulling both of her lower eyelids down as she rolled her eyes upward. "They're disgusting, annoying and they sting! I wish they could just all buzz off. They deserve to have their honey taken away from them."

"Okay then. How about bears? You like bears, don't you? Plus, they're a hive's worst nightmare." Ren proposed.

"That's more like it!" Nora chirped up. "Make it like a panda—it suites us both well!" Looking back, I saw her clutching the teddy bear Ren won for her the other day on her chest, putting a smile on my face.

They continued to talk about a few until Nora asked him a question. "Hey, Ren. I'm not suggesting anything, but do you think that Headmaster Ozpin uses the partnering system to create romantic couples? Not saying that it means we should be together-together or anything but do you ever get the feeling?"

Ren made a chuckle, which got my attention and Pyrrha's because it's not often you hear Lie Ren laugh. "Of course not, Nora, that would be unprofessional and just downright nonsensical. But I'm still glad that we ended up together."

"Yeah, you're right," Nora muttered. "It was silly for me to think that."

"You think of silly things all the time."

"Yeah, true." she giggled.

"And honestly, that's what I like about you," Ren stated. "Without you, I would have forgotten what happiness feels like. So, I thank you for staying with me for all these years."

"Aww." Nora cooed. "C'mere you." she began putting Ren in a tight embrace, which was considered very friendly if you ignore Nora spooning him.

I couldn't help but smile at the sweet sight. Maybe a little too sweet that's it's becoming suggestive, so I cleared my throat and put the two back to their senses.

Nora quickly let go of Ren and flushed. "We're still not together-together!"

Sure you're not.

I shook my head and smirked to Pyrrha who smiled back and shrugged before I went back to my business. I really need to work on my dynamic with Pyrrha—there's so much potential between the two of us, that I'll need to start strengthening our bonds together at this dance.

 **=o=**

1\. _While Ruby does have a passion for weapons, Jaune is clearly making a joke here. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if she did marry the Crescent Rose_.

2\. _He was referring to his former date with Selene Raine, who turned out to be using him for a bet. He eventually found out her true motives and then humiliated her with the help of Rouge. A fuller account will be uploaded to the Extras section soon._

* * *

It was Saturday. Since there were no classes, Team RW_Y and I spent almost the entire afternoon on community service. After hours of cleaning, renovating and assisting the staff, we went to organize the ballroom for tomorrow's dance as our last assignment for the day, even though this was already assigned to Team CFVY (Coffee). But then again, they just arrived early from their week-long mission, so I suppose they're too tired to organize the ballroom for an activity they are not invited to.

We were told that to provide a balance of a formal soiree and a youth's dance night; something with the likes of a school's prom party, which it kinda is. Likewise, Weiss handled the formal stuff with Yang in charge of the party equipment while Ruby and I assisted both of them. Blake was nowhere to be found since she called in sick, Miss Goodwitch allowed her to take a day off but still holds the hours she has to make up for.

Weiss and Yang can go a little too overboard with their respective arrangements that it's going astray from the intended plan. With Weiss trying to make the ballroom a little too sophisticated, and Yang planning to make the ballroom too much of a dance club, which led to arguments thanks to creative differences. Ruby and I had to act as mediators; diffusing conflicts and make compromises to ensure balance with ballroom's organization.

I was in charge of arranging the chairs and tables as well as helping out with the decorations. While I was at the middle of it I heard a loud thump after Yang put down a large speaker. I looked at the Yang who conversing with her sister who was resting her head on the table, either because she was tired or was still thinking about last Tuesday; either way, she doesn't seem to be really feeling it.

Gods, this team is a mess. I thought they'd be better than last semester but I don't think their issues are going to let any of that happen.

"Weiss! I thought we agreed; No doilies!" Yang scolded as she saw Weiss put fancy mats on the tables.

"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss responded as she bolted near her.

"I don't think they're both necessary," I said. "The dance is going to fine without them. We're neither organizing a cocktail party or a disco ball."

"I know we're not, but it's still a dance. And what's to set the mood and put some haze on the floor?" Yang stated.

The door suddenly opened as Sun and Neptune walked in with all heads turning at them, "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.

"Nah, it's too much," I answered. "Besides, Weiss wanted this to be a bit more—"

"We were thinking about it!" Weiss said as she suddenly steps in and covered my mouth with the cold hands of hers.

"That's pretty cool," Neptune said as I put Weiss' hand away and glared at her, she folded her arms and looked away from me and harrumphed.

Looks like someone's trying to impress her boyfriend.

"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun asked.

"Pfftt... Yeah, right!" Ruby scoffed, someone just doesn't like fancy dresses.

"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!" Yang boasted.

Not forcefully, I hope.

"What are you two wearing?" Weiss inquired to the duo.

"Uhh... this?" Sun gestures to his open shirt which still doesn't have anything underneath.

"Nice suit, then." I snarked.

"Ignore him for he knows not what he says," Neptune said as he stepped up and put a hand in front of Sun's face.

Sun swiped his partner's hand away. "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place." he defended.

"Yeah, we noticed," Yang stated, looking unimpressed as her teammates.

"So where's Blake?" he asked. "I noticed she isn't around when she should be working with you guys."

"She excused herself so she could keep looking into the White Fang," Weiss answered in an annoyed tone. "She still refuses to let her mission go."

Sun made a sorrowful sigh. "So she's still being all, you know... Blakey?"

"Obviously."

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind," Ruby said.

"Me neither," I added.

"Of course," Sun sighed and glanced on the ground. "What did I expect?"

"Guys," Yang called. "Trust me; Blake will be at the dance tomorrow," she said confidently.

"How can you be so sure about that?" I skeptically asked, "She's been burning the candle at both ends since that night, and I don't she'll think have the intention to stop anytime soon."

"You're being too cynical, Vomit Boy." she replied as she pulls out a laser pointer, "I'm gonna convince her, starting with this bad boy." she began demonstrating it a nearby wall.

I raised my brow and everyone stared at Yang with confused looks. "You sure about that?"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Yang reaffirmed. "Once Blake shows up, none of you will think I'm crazy anymore."

"I hope your right," I muttered. Though, I doubt that proving to be able to convince Blake makes her less insane; in fact, it only makes her more insane, considering how adamant Blake is. Hopefully, she won't use her typical methods of persuasion, I know she wouldn't use it on her own teammates but one should remember that Yang was not known for using her mouth in convincing people.

"So, do you guys need any help?" Neptune asked.

"We're good. We're almost done. Besides, you guys earned your break after finally completing your sentence."

"Oh, it's nothing. It was just three days worth of chores but thanks anyway." Neptune said before turning to me. "Jaune, if you don't mind—meet us at the courtyard when you're done. There's something we want to talk to you about."

"Fine by me." I nodded.

"Later, then," Sun said as they both turned around and left the building.

"So you were saying that you're not wearing a dress tomorrow?" Yang asked her little sister.

"C'mon sis. Isn't my outfit not already a dress enough?"

"No, it's not." Weiss asserted. "No offense, Ruby, but those aren't tasteful enough to count."

"Weiss-cream's right, Rubes. That skirt of yours won't be grabbing any boys' attention." Yang said.

"Which is why I'm taking you to Vale and shop with me for clothes once we're done with this assignment," Weiss stated.

Ruby tried protesting. "Weiss, I don't think that's—"

"Shush. As your partner, you are going shopping with me… AND YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE IT!" she snapped.

Ruby groaned and went back to resting her head on the table. I decided to leave them with their girl talk and went back to business. There was still work to be done.

I left the dance hall and went to the courtyard where Sun and Neptune are waiting for me. I was somewhat hesitant since agreeing to go with them last time got me involved in that fiasco, but I highly doubt that they want to go through all that again, especially since they just finished their sentence just recently.

"So what are you two planning to do this time?" I asked them.

"Well, since Blake's not coming to the dance, I was thinking maybe you could help me out a bit," Sun answered. "I could use another wingman."

Although I'm glad that it didn't involve following Blake again and getting dragged into more life-threatening bullshit, I still questioned myself why I even bothered coming here. "Wingman? So you're telling me to help you find a date?"

"Pretty much," he answered. "I should already be glad to have Neptune at my back, but I think I'll have a better chance if you come along."

"How exactly?" I raised my brow and asked.

"Duh," Neptune spoke up. "Girls have been drooling all over you ever since you stopped the robbery. With your help, we'll be able to take a girl out for tomorrow. You have a date by now, have you?"

"Yes…" I hesitantly confirmed. "Yes, I do."

"Cool. Who is she anyway?"

"It's Pyrrha," I said as I caught my breath.

They both grinned with impressed looks on their faces. "Freaking A," Neptune remarked. "Though coming from you that's hardly surprising."

"I take it you have a date too?" I inquired.

"Nah, not yet," he answered confidently. "I'm still considering my options."

"He actually needs your help as much as I do since every girl he asked out turned him down." Sun teasingly corrected.

"Shut up, dude. I'm was only practicing my charm. It's not my fault they're nervous around someone as handsome as me." he defended, but if his initial tone was any indication, he's not really much of a chick magnet as he looks. **[1]**

"Yeah, sure." Sun scoffed before turning back to me. "So, are you up for it or not?"

A couple of pretty-boys asking help from me—some scraggly **[2]** dork with confusing luck—to pick up girls. I'm definitely losing my mind and agreeing to go only proved that further. "I don't see why not." I forced a smile.

"I knew we could count on you, my man." he pumped. "Let Operation: Babe Hunt commence!"

Hoo boy, this might not end well, I thought. If they couldn't think of a more original name for this imminent farce, then it is doomed from the start unless we somehow managed to appease Lady Luck herself.

We strolled around the Beacon campus, looking for first-year girls to pick-up for the two. There were plenty of girls we met that we took into consideration, but most of them were either already taken, not into guys, were upperclassmen who weren't eligible since it was made clear that the dance was an event only for freshmen, or wanted me instead (In those cases, we had to bail out quickly.)

Looking for available girls in Beacon was more challenging than we anticipated. It wasn't until I spotted two elegantly dressed girls conversing on a bench that we managed to find suitable candidates. After a quick eavesdrop, their demeanors and appearance indicated that they were from Atlas. One of them noticed me and gave me a wave as she looked at me.

I flushed before quickly shaking it off and turned to Sun. "You don't happen to be into Atlesian girls, do you?"

"I would if it weren't for their attitude towards the faunus." he said.

"I see what you're coming from, but isn't it just as insensitive to assume all Atlesians are like that?"

"I know but I'd rather not take my chances. Besides, I prefer girls from Mistral and Vacuo," he said before spotting four Vacuan girls in a distance. "Speaking of which."

We all turned toward that particular group, where all members were no short of beautiful. Neptune wolf-whistled to the quartet of rather attractive women. "They look as hot as the desert they live in."

Looking closer at the colorful female quartet, I recognized the two of them to be Nebula and Dew—the same two girls who approached me last Monday. It was better to let Sun and Neptune approach them without me because I'll just end up spoiling their chance since those two seem to be crushing on me.

"I'll go first." Sun rubbed his hands. "Any advice?"

"Just remember that girls are people too; they can get nervous just as much as us when we're asking them out," I stated with my past dating experiences that have an arbitrary degree of success.

"You seem to know what you're talking about," Neptune remarked.

"I've done this before." Like a lot, but that's something I'd rather not explain further.

"Well then, it's good to have you with us then," Sun said. "Now it's time to put my swag on."

"Just remember to be confident, but not too confident," I told him.

"Relax. I can do this. I'm a big guy."

"Yeah. For you." Neptune quipped.

"Watch."

Sun cleared his throat walked over toward the group. Neptune and I hid behind the corner and watched Sun's attempt at courting.

"Hey, uh, I-I can't help notice, you girls," Sun said after approaching them. "I see you're from Vacuo then."

The girls glanced at each other in confusion. "That's right." Nebula said. "And you are?"

"Sun Wukong. You may have heard of Team SSSN, have you?"

"No… I can't say we have." the gray-haired one responded.

I couldn't see Sun's expression since he was facing behind me, but I could tell he was disappointed upon his lack of recognition.

"Well, feel free to look us up," Sun suggested. "You won't be disappointed. We do it all. Aside from hunting Grimm, we do music, acting, modeling, community work, all kinds of stuff!"

The girls continue to look perplexedly at him. "Uhh, cool." Nebula said. "We'll be sure to check that out… Uhm..."

"Sun Wukong?" he reminded.

"Right… Sun. It was cool meeting you and all, but we need to head back to our dorms." she stated as she leads her group past him. "Until we meet again, I guess."

We watched as they ditch Sun and started walking in our direction. Neptune began shaking his head. "Sunny, Sunny, Sunny. You're just not using that monkey brain of yours. Let me show you how it's done." he fixed his collar and got out of cover before walking toward the girls.

"Neptune, wait!" I said as I followed him. That turned out to be a mistake as the four girls began facing my direction and gasped in joy.

Figures.

Neptune mistakenly thought the hysteria was directed towards him. "Settle down, ladies. I know that I—" the girls then ran past Neptune, leaving him frozen in place as they approached me.

"Is it really him?!" the red-haired girl excitedly asked as the girls circle around me. "Are we facing the Hero of Podunk with our very own eyes?!"

"Oh, yes, it's definitely him!" the gray-haired one stated.

"It's good to finally see you again!" Nebula squealed. "We heard about what you did in the city the other day. Man, you and Pyrrha were awesome!"

I was caught in a trap of admirers and the only thing I could do was engage in an amicable conversation while restraining my blush even if it's not as severe as theirs. "Good to see you too," I said, trying to put on a mask of confidence. "Enjoying Beacon so far?"

"We're loving it," Dew spoke up. "Especially with someone like you around."

I gave a smile as I did my best to restrain my embarrassment to these cute girls as they gush about on a position I'm not worthy of.

"Oh, and we like you to meet our teammates." Nebula said before indicating the two other girls beside her and Dew. "This is Octavia and Gwen. Say hi to Jaune, girls."

"H-hi!" the gray-haired one, Gwen said. "I-It's an honor to meet you, Jaune Arc."

"Y-You're pretty cool!" Octavia—the redhead, spurted. "D-Don't get the wrong idea, though! I only just met you." she flushed as she tried looking away. It was pretty obvious, however, that she has the hots for me as much as I'm having trouble believing it.

"Oh, Tavi. As spicy as ever." Dew gave a Cheshire grin as she teased her. "You just don't want him realizing that you want to take him to tomorrow's dance, do you?"

"S-Shut up! You said you wanted to dance with him too you know!" Octavia retorted.

"I-I did?" Dew pondered as her face grew as red as her friends, and she was already blushing to begin with. "I know he's cool and all but—"

"Girls, calm down. If anyone here is going to the dance with him then it'll be me." Nebula asserted. "I met him first, and it's my obligation as the leader of Team NDGO (Indigo) to take his hand."

"Oh, come on now, Nebula," Gwen called out. "You already had your fun with him the other day and you can't just hog him all to yourself. Besides, he deserved to be partnered with someone who is proven to be a proficient dancer such as myself."

"As if!" Dew exclaimed. "Besides, this was my idea in the first place, so it should be me to take his hand.

"I thought you didn't want to dance with him!" Octavia replied.

"And I thought you said you only met him!"

"I know but I—!"

"Ladies," Neptune said as he stepped in, putting the girls to a halt as they put their attention to him. "I heard you're all looking for someone to dance with; I happen to be available myself."

The girls all just stared at him with unsure faces before Nebula spoke up. "Okay...?"

"Name's Neptune Vasilias; a charmer, a brilliant inventor, a valedictorian, and also formidable of the arts of Grimm hunting." he boasted as he grinned at them, showing off his pearly white teeth.

"Right..." Dew uttered. "Sorry, but we're not interested," then they all turned back to me, much to his chagrin.

"Oh come on! You have got to be kidding me!" Neptune whined as the girls ignored him.

Sorry, guys, but I have no control over these girls. If it was up to me, I'll have them fawning over you instead, but sadly, fate begs to differ right now.

"Now where were we?" Nebula asked, glancing at all of her teammates.

"The part we decided that he's coming with me," Gwen claimed.

"Oh hell no, he is coming with me!" Octavia said.

"No, me!" Dew said.

"Me!" the girls screamed at each other.

"Girls, girls," I said, calming the quartet and putting them away off each other's throats. "I appreciate all of your offers; I really do, but I already have a date for tomorrow."

The girls all whined in disappointment but quickly cheered up in understanding. "Well, good to know then." Nebula sighed. "Sorry for asking. We should have known that someone like you already has a partner by now."

"It's fine. We all make mistakes." I smiled at them. "But if you're looking for a partner, my friends of mine happen to be available."

The four paused as they started to muse, not even turning back as Sun and Neptune tried waving for their attention. "It's okay. I think we can manage." Nebula declined. I can feel the disappointment of the duo after hearing that. "We'll still be able to see each other at the dance, right?"

"Of course. We'll keep in touch. Maybe dance with all four of you even." I proposed without thinking. I really wanted to smack myself for saying that, **[3]** as I didn't want to make my love life more complicated by attempting to create a harem of girls.

They glanced at each other and blushed once again at the thought with Dew and Octavia biting their lips, but they were more than happy by it. "Great! We'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow then." Nebula said.

"Can't wait to see you girls too," I said.

"Then, in any case. We'll see you around!"

"Bye." I waved at the girls as they returned my farewell and walked from me. Listening to them as they leave, I could hear them utter.

"He's so cute!"

"Nice and understanding too!"

"And to think he can fight so bravely and win."

"I know, right?"

It's official. The person behind the phrase 'Nice guys finish last' is full of shit; either he didn't try hard enough or wasn't a nice guy to begin with. If that's true, I shouldn't have girls be attracted to me for being too nice when I thought that doing that would make me look awkward. I'm supposed to be here to look for dates for Sun and Neptune, not needlessly flirt with girls I'm supposed to pair them up with.

"Dude, how? Just how?!" Neptune pondered as he and Sun walked toward me. "Are you using some sort of chick magnet's body spray or something?"

"I can't say I recall using one, let alone owning one to begin with..." I said as I began sniffing and picked up a scent of it from Neptune. "But come to think of it, I can smell one coming from you."

"What? Please... I'm too cool for that kind of stuff." Neptune claimed.

"Not cool enough to attract girls." Sun quipped.

"Look who's talking." he retorted.

Sun turned back to me. "First Pyrrha Nikos, and then an entire team. Man, you have ways with girls, Jaune." Sun remarked. "Maybe you should get more than one partner?"

"Sun, don't give him ideas. The next thing we might know is that all single ladies are taken by Jaune and there would be nobody left for us to date with." Neptune said.

"Yeah, you're right," Sun muttered. "But I like the sound of that; Jaune Arc—the harem king! Someone would kill to get that title."

Oh, trust me. Polyamory would be the best thing to happen to me if I didn't know any better. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the company of being surrounded by multiple beautiful women, but having to take care of several girls would mean my time and wallet getting drained for trying to support all of them. I also have to struggle with treating all girls equally, which is a pain in the ass that it's not good for the health.

And that's only assuming if such relationships work. Even then, I still have to undergo some dramatic bullshit and keep them from each other's throats by somehow convincing them to share me. Otherwise, they would all start ganging up as they all dump me for playing with their feelings if they at least are merciful enough not to murder me or each other. So, no thanks. One partner would be enough, and I'll do my best to stay loyal to that person. **[4]**

I blame Dad for this. When he was younger, he said to have slept around with different women until he met Mom, where he stopped because he didn't want her to kill him. No wonder why she warned me about his romantic advice.

Eh, on the bright side, at least I know that I'm guaranteed to get laid soon.

I gave a faint chuckle. "Let's not forget why we're here. We still have to find you some partners."

"Yeah. Be sure to turn off your attractiveness this time, we didn't bring you here to see you steal girls from us." Neptune said.

"I don't intend to that," I told him… "I'll try but I don't guarantee it."

"Relax. With three of our charms combined. No one will be able to resist us!" Sun said, putting an arm over our shoulders.

At this point, you would want them to resist mine when they see me, I thought as I ponder how I am going to be done with this.

 **=o=**

1\. _Despite struggling romantically in Beacon—Team SSSN was fairly popular among civilians in Mistral, especially females. They were even able to spawn a sizable fanbase centered on them._

2\. _Anyone who witnessed his body's build knows that this is not true, even if the depiction of his muscular stature is often exaggerated._

3\. _You're not the only one._

4\. _I sincerely hope that you're right about that._

* * *

After minutes of scouting, we were able to spot another single first-year. We were staring at Iris Clancy of Team VILE awhile she was playing chess with the Team CFVY member, Velvet Scarlatina below one of the maple trees near the fountain.

Despite being in the same class, Iris and I didn't talk much. **[1]** While she did recognize me by my title, she didn't appear to be much of a fan, thereby making her one of the most bearable classmates to deal with. I suspect that she is already with someone considering the lack of interest, only to recently find out that she was single and was open for being partnered with.

"Alright, we're at least familiar with each other—so let me take care of this one while you two stay put," I told the duo.

"Okay. Just remember to be careful not to have her fall for you." Sun replied.

I gave a silent nod since I really can't speak for that. I stood up and went to my classmate, puffing for a boost of confidence.

"Hey, Iris. Hey Velvet." I greeted the two girls as they paused their session to look at me. Iris gave a bright smile while Velvet was blushing uncontrollably at my presence.

"Oh, hello Jaune. Need something?" Iris inquired.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I stated. "You see I have some friends that need a date for tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you could help out for a bit?"

"What can I do then?"

"For starters, do you mind being the date of one of them? I don't mean for you actually date them or anything, you just need to accompany them for tomorrow's dance."

She widened her eyes as she flushed and glanced around her surroundings "That's a bit sudden." she said before her face turned back to normal. "I'm sorry but I've decided I'm not going with anyone tomorrow. You better find someone else."

I groaned in disappointment but I kept my calm demeanor intact and respected her decision. "Okay then. Sorry to bother you. Both of you."

"No harm is done." Iris reassured, "I do hope your friends get what they needed."

"Much obliged." I thanked.

"Hey, Jaune?" Velvet's accented voice called, turning my attention towards her.

"Oh hey, Velvet. Looking lovely today." I said. The final compliment was supposed to be my attempt at being awkward, unfortunately, I forgot to make it sound like it and add a few stutters. Making me worry about the harem thing once again.

"Thank you," she said as her ears bent and looked away for a moment. "I just wanted to ask if you're doing alright. I heard you have gotten yourself involved with the White Fang. From what I've heard of, they aren't very nice people."

"That's an understatement. Attempting to rob a bank filled with innocents in it gives you an idea of what kind of people they are." I stated. "And they're supposed to be fighters of equality or something."

"Yeah, I guess they lost their ideals," she said looking down. If there was anything the White Fan contributed to anything to their kind, it's nothing but full of trouble and putting more tension to the already strained relationships with humans. Team CRDL bullying someone as sweet and harmless like her can be thanked by the White Fang. "What were you doing in there anyway?"

"I was only passing through when it all happened. I had no choice but to fight." I said, partially telling her the truth. Why am I not telling her the bigger picture should be obvious enough.

"Well, that's an unfortunate coincidence," Iris commented, and she couldn't be any more right. "Luckily you got out alive, and the White Fang got what's coming to them."

"You can say that again," I stated. "Though, it was thanks to Pyrrha that their robbery foiled."

"Props to her." Velvet said. "But from what I've heard, you were doing fine even without Pyrrha's help. You could have still won regardless."

While not really implausible if I had a clearer mind then, they weren't aware of the psychopathic ice cream midget that would have brought my demise if Pyrrha didn't intervene. "Regardless, I'm glad to have her back. Even if we are known to be capable fighters, it's still our duty to watch each other's backs."

"I get where you're coming from. Coco pretty protective of me herself; she's pretty much why I was almost unharmed at my recent mission. It's not like she's overprotective or anything, she doesn't doubt my strength, she just doesn't like seeing me hurt. Aside from you teaching Cardin a lesson, she is also why he stopped picking on me. Say what you want about her, but she's like a big sister to me."

"I know how that feels." I snorted. "To be fair, Coco's nuts. I would do the same if she did threaten me."

"Did somebody say my name?" A voice asked. We all turned toward her and saw Coco folding her arms with Sun and Neptune behind her.

Welp, it appears that our operation has been compromised. Coco wasn't exactly what you'd call terrifying, at first glance she's just a normal fashion-loving girl with a bit of an attitude, but anyone familiar with her is aware that she could slaughter elite Grimm with only her handbag and that's without even transforming it to its minigun form. I've talked to her a few times back in some conferences between team leaders last semester. Surprisingly, she's a pretty amicable person to talk to. It's probably because I managed to get on her good side and I intend to stay there, wouldn't want my head to be crushed by a blunt purse.

"Oh, Coco! We were only discussing what we did this week." Velvet told her.

"Is it? Because from what I've heard Arc here is trying to help these two chumps find a partner for tomorrow's freshman dance." she sneered as she gestures towards the two.

"Hey, who are you calling a chump?" Sun retorted.

"Someone who couldn't ask out a girl despite his so-called 'charm'." she scoffed, making Sun growl as he just stands there, doing nothing about it.

"You know, I think we should move someplace else," Iris suggested to Velvet.

"Good idea," she said as she started to gather chess pieces and the board. "It was nice talking to you, Jaune. We'll keep in touch."

I gave her a nod as the two began trotting away with the chessboard. I went back to facing Team CFVY's fashionista of a leader. "Let me make this clear; no one is asking out Velvet. I was just trying to ask my classmate to take one of my friends to the dance."

"Of course nobody's asking her out. In fact, nobody asked her out last year." she asserted.

"No one did?" I raised my brow and continued to stare at her eyes behind those shades.

She shook her head. "She was too shy to ask someone out, and the boys either thought she was too good for them, or were racist pricks, or because they were scared because of me."

That definitely sounds like her, but if anything, she deserves to be treated better than that. "That a shame. She's a pretty nice girl."

"Indeed she is. And if somebody tried to take advantage of that, hoo-boy." she hissed. I nervously gulped at her sadistic streak, "But you have nothing to worry about. As much you look like you could offer a fun challenge, you're just too much a gentleman from what I've heard." she said before looking back at Sun and Neptune. "Though, I don't know if I could say the same for these two bozos."

"They're not bad people. I'm sure they'll get a dance, you just need to give them a little more time." I said, as much as annoying these two can be, they really seem to be interested in being genuinely helpful, even if they are not good at showing that.

"I know. With that macho attitude, they eventually would," she remarked. "Which is why I think you're wasting your time with them. So how about we talk at my office instead? I'm not taking any excuses."

She has an office? I thought. While I really wanted to ask that, I wasted no time and decided that I'll see it for myself. "Are you suggesting me to ditch them?

"Like I said. I don't like those two myself, but if they could pull off their good looks and make good use of it, they'll manage," she said. "I just want to have a word with you. One leader to another."

"Give me a sec," I said, pointing a finger and walked toward the duo. "Sorry, guys. It looks like you're on your own for now. Coco needs me for something apparently."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. It was nice hanging out for you for a bit." Sun said.

"Look, I should have told you this earlier, but here it is. If you're going to ask someone out, just ask them nicely; no pickup lines, no suave moves, just be yourself."

"That's a little cliché, but we'll take your word for it," Neptune remarked.

I gotta thank Mom for the advice sometime. I wonder she gave that advice to dad when they were getting together.

"Just be a little careful. That chick sounds like she wants to break my bones." Sun warned.

I shrugged at the thought and went back to Coco. "Lead the way." I nodded at her.

She gave a satisfactory smirk as I began accompanying her toward wherever her so-called 'office'. As I disperse with the duo, I arrived with her at the sophomore's dorm building and we stopped at Team CFVY's door.

As it turned out, it just happened to be just her team's quarters. I really don't know why I even expected something else as it was improbable for a second-year student to have their own office.

The dorm was well-decorated, though. With each side representing the owner's personality pretty nicely. Coco's side looked like it belonged to a fashion star. Velvet's wall was full of photos and memos. Yatsuhashi's is oriental-themed, fitting for someone who looks like or is a samurai, even having kanji writings sticking around. Meanwhile Fox' looks simplistic compared to his teammates, then again I don't know much about Fox and it might be conveying something I couldn't understand at the moment.

"Quite the office you have here, Coco. You and your teammates even sleep in it." I quipped as I looked around.

"Yeah, I know. It takes a bit of sweat to keep it tidy," she said, adjusting her shades, which she was still wearing even though she's indoors.

"You're still wearing those?" I pointed at her sunglasses. Coco's fashion sense, while agreeable for the most part, can raise a few brows, I would have asked her what was the purpose of those zippers on her knees if her wearing sunglasses indoors didn't bother me more. **[2]**

"What? You have a problem?" she questioned.

As a matter of fact, I do. Don't your eyes ever struggle with dark tint inside a building or have you been wearing them long enough that your eyesight has adjusted to them to the point that there is barely a difference between wearing one or not. "Oh, nevermind."

She quickly shrugged off the question and grabbed the pot from a coffeemaker. "So... coffee?"

"I'm more of a tea type of guy, but thanks." I nodded. There was no reason for me not to simmer down with a nice, hot drink. It's not tanna, but it'll do.

Coffee with Team CFVY. Heh, go figure.

She poured coffee to a mug and handed it to me before grabbing a mug of her own. "Well, whaddaya freaking know. I've been away for a week and one of the first things you did was beat up a bunch of faunus extremists robbing a bank and become a bigger hero people said you were."

"Good to see you too, and trust me, you don't even know half of it." I leaned back my chair before taking a sip at the mug of coffee she gave me. "How was your trip, by the way?"

"It was boring," she yawned. "Just take your plain average Search & Destroy mission and stretch it long enough to last for five freaking days and you have the general idea of how we spent the last weekdays." **[3]**

"That sounds annoyingly tedious," I remarked. However, in my opinion, that doesn't sound bad, given the lack of excitement she apparently had. If I were to start taking missions, these low-risk types that guarantee zero casualties are going to be my ideal choices. "Still sounds better than doing chores because you got in trouble."

"Wait, don't tell me they signed you up for community service because of that bank thing," Coco said as she firmly holds her mug so it doesn't spill from her being so baffled.

"No good deed ever goes unpunished," I remarked as I gave a chuckle. I'm actually glad my penalty is rather danger-free and I would take community service any day over life-threatening encounters with Grimm.

"So tell me; what are you planning on the dance now that you have Pyrrha Nikos herself as your partner?" she inquired.

I almost choked on my coffee when she asked me that. Thankfully, I managed not to spit it at her and I was able to get it through my throat before catching my breath. "How did you know that?"

"It's today's hot topic. Though, it wasn't much of news since everyone already thought you two were dating anyway. I'm more surprised to learn that you two still aren't a real couple."

Does that how people see both of us together? "Well, I want to see where it goes first before going on a straight-up relationship," I told her. "I just want to give my partner the night of her life. It's everyone's objective for tomorrow anyway."

"That's a start. You better buckle up, because sooner or later you'll be taking your partnership to the next level."

I held my coffee down. "What are you getting into?"

"Face it, Arc. Everyone wants you two together. It's much harder to find someone here in Beacon who doesn't ship you and Pyrrha."

"Wait? Ship? As in relation-shipping? That kind of thing teenage girls like to do in their fanbases?" I pondered as I look at her in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Believe it or not, it's apparently not limited to fictional couples. I know, it's weird as it sounds. Heck, I heard there are even some weirdos out there who pair me up with Velvet." she said as she puts her mug on a table.

"You and Velvet, huh?" I pondered as I try not to show my amusement at the thought of her making out with Velvet before snapping out of it before she notices. "Why is that? I mean, not saying there's anything wrong with you two getting together, hypothetically speaking. My eldest sister is married to a girl."

"I don't know, because it's cute to them, I guess? That sounds much more reasonable than thinking that because I was the only person they saw talking to her. I do really care about Velvet because that is what a partner is supposed to do, but I NEVER SAW HER LIKE THAT." she suddenly snapped, making me flinch back that my coffee almost spilled. Coco calmed down and took a deep breath. "Seriously, do people these days think that normal interaction equals romance?"

Come to think of it. I really didn't show much affection to Pyrrha at public, yet Coco claimed that we were still a popular pairing. I suppose it was still obvious or because people like pairing them with their partners by default, which would be a rather lazy way of making couples if you ask me. **[4]**

"Next time I hear someone doing that. I swear I'm shoving a carrot up on their ass." she hissed. I really wish she didn't mention that because that was something I did not want to visualize in my mind. "Back on topic, since your relationship with P-Money is inevitable, you are going to need some insights on romance."

"I don't think that's necessary, Coco. My family already gave me enough advice and I've already dated before."

"Too bad. I'm still going to teach you anyway." she then stirred to her shelf and grabbed a book with a red snowflake on the cover.

"The Crimson Snow Chronicles?" I said, uttering the title of the said book she was holding. By the looks of it, it's another garbage romance novel, and boy was I right.

"Yeah, it's a pretty popular book. Maybe too popular that it's overshadowing all the other novels in the genre." Coco explained. "It's about a princess caught in a love triangle between a gardener and a knight."

"You lost me at love triangle," I said. Granted, I'm never into these types of stories and I probably won't bother reading a single page of it, but I really loathe love triangles. It annoys me on how overused it is and how usually shallow it is executed. Relationships can be complicated in different ways and yet for some reason, they always pick this dumb cliché and uses it with as little depth as possible.

"Oh come on. You haven't even read it yet. Give it a chance, you might learn a thing or two about courting a lady."

"No thanks, I think I'll be fine." Even if I did bother with it, I really doubt this is going to teach me anything. Knowledge from Romance novels is just as reliable as knowledge from movies.

Coco sighed for a moment. "Suite yourself. But the first two is really good. The third one sucked; it was less of a story and more of a mouthpiece for the author's political views."

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. "Oh wow."

"And don't get me started on its fanbase. Because of the theme of the stories, arguments tend to be heated regarding who the princess should end up with."

Fighting over fictional couples? That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Really, I'm trying my hardest not to burst out laughing because of how absurd that sounds. Seeing how shipping also extends to real life for whatever farcical reason, I hope no one takes any of that too seriously, it would be pretty sad if you think about it.

"Could be worst, at least it's not something like you know 'The Ninjas of Love.'" Coco shrugged. Ugh, she really had to mention that abomination of a book. I never read something so atrocious I almost died laughing my guts out on how bad it is while questioning myself on what the hell I'm doing with my life.

"If you're in the mood, maybe you should give it a chance. I won't force you to like it."

I puffed as I sipped down half of my mug and began pondering why am I even doing here and realize that this conversation was getting too off-topic. "It's cool to know about this book and all, but this is getting us nowhere. Are we still even talking about the dance?"

"Yeah, sorry. Got a little overboard with this," she said before clearing her throat. "I take it you have something to wear for tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, I have," I answered. "It's a tux one of my sisters made. It's not really the fanciest suit but its good enough for me."

"Your suit isn't too bright or flashy by any chance, is it?" she inquired.

"What? No, it's a black tux. I know my sisters like to embarrass me, but they wouldn't go that far." I said, ignoring that they also sent a dress for me to wear.

"Oh good. You wouldn't want to make an ass of yourself when you're trying to make the best impression to Mistral's most badass darlings" she remarked. "Outside of weddings, those things pretty much lost their magic these days."

"You're really into fashion," I remarked. "There's no doubt that you'll get along with one of my sisters. She's a tailor herself, and she owns a boutique in Acadia **[5]**."

"Never heard of her," Coco said. "She sounds cool, though. I should meet her someday."

I smiled before inquiring for more advice. "Anything else I should know?"

"You happen to have a lot of admirers, do you?" Coco raised her brow, making them visible above her sunglasses.

I thought about the fangirls that have been gushing about me since El Segador's attempted robbery which elevated since my recent act of unintentional vigilantism. "Maybe," I answered hesitantly.

Coco began snickering. "You're such a charmer. Don't worry, you could satisfy these girls while keeping Pyrrha as your top priority. You could dance with as many people as you want."

I took a deep breath. The most girls I have danced during social events are usually three or less, depending on how many girls my sister tried pairing me at those times, here I might probably end up dancing several girls since I ended up making too many friendships with the opposite sex, as well as the fangirls I have to satisfy while not being too affectionate as I still don't want a harem. "Good to know."

"Aside from that, I don't have anything to say aside from what you may have already known," Coco admitted, standing up and grabbing to finish her mug of coffee while I and finished with mine. At least my visit here wasn't entirely pointless. "This is a pretty nice talk. Just remember to take good care of Pyrrha. I heard that girls like her are pretty hungry for genuine love. I trust that you'll satisfy her with that then?"

"You have nothing to worry about. I'd be a bad partner if I didn't treat her well." I reassured, putting the cup at my table and stood up as well.

"Good luck out there tiger," Coco said as I started heading to the exit before she called me again. "Oh, and by the way. Your fly was down this whole time."

I glared at her before checking it out—turned out she was right. I groaned, zipping it up and went straight for the exit.

Trying to have a normal relationship in Beacon is tougher than I thought.

 **=o=**

1\. _Jaune rarely converses with other Beacon freshmen aside from his team and Team RWBY, so this isn't considered a surprise._

2\. _She even wears them during nighttime. Make that as you will._

3\. _Yatsuhashi Daichi wrote an After-Action Report describing the said mission, although, like what Coco mentioned, it's hardly an intriguing read due to the dullness of the mission by Huntsman standards._

4\. _Sounds like that they lack tasteful choices in pairings then._

5\. _A city located near Pucelle where the Arc family regularly visits._

* * *

Stepping out from the hallway of the second-year's dorms, the first thing I saw was Sun and Neptune standing near the entrance and that it was getting dark.

"So, what did you talk about?" Sun asked.

"Just some stuff for tomorrow. Nothing much really." I answered. "So, you two finally got someone?"

Sun just looked down and sighed while Neptune just stood there with a frown. "I guess it didn't go well then. Sorry, guys." I said. This is a bit of a surprise, these two are more good-looking than I do that they should have a date by now.

"It's okay. I think we'll be fine going to the dance on our own, who needs chicks anyway?" Sun said, brightening up for a bit before stretching an arm to Neptune's shoulder. "Besides, we still have each other."

"Yeah…" Neptune muttered, forcing a smile. "Hey, Jaune… I just wanted to say that I've decided that…" he paused, hesitating his statement.

"That you what?"

"Nothing. I just decided who I'm going to the dance with."

"Good to know. Have you asked her out yet?" I responded, feeling somewhat glad for him.

"Nah… actually she asked me out," he said, scratching his back as he blushed, with Sun giving a faint chuckle.

"Really? That's good to hear. At least this wasn't a colossal failure." I said. Neptune is lucky to have Weiss drooling at him for whatever reason. **[1]** Otherwise, he had to go through the embarrassment of as a heartthrob who fails to take a girl to a dance.

"Yeah…" Neptune looked at his partner for a bit, exchanging nervous looks before turning back to me. "Thanks for your help. Things may not have gone to plan, but it was nice hanging out with you."

"No problem." I nodded before turning to Sun. "And sorry again that we couldn't get you a partner, Sun."

"Like I said, it's all cool," Sun reassured. "I'd like to think of this as a lesson of humility for both of us. We were too used to our popularity back home, after all."

"Uh-huh," I uttered. "Just remember my advice. Hopefully, it might net you, someone, someday."

"Trust me—after today, I don't think I'll be forgetting that anytime soon," he stated. "Thanks again for your help."

"Anytime." We mutually smiled at each other before finally going in our separate ways.

I was heading to the freshman's dorm when I stopped to look at the Beacon's statue once more. The very same one where Blake revealed her secret. A statue symbolizing the bravery of Huntsmen and Huntresses—and how they are protectors of the world. The plaque below it reads Beacon's slogan: 'Victoria Per Animae Simplex' **[2]**

It only made me question my presence here again. It's baffling to know how far I went and yet still have a long way to go, all because I'm too afraid to disappoint anyone.

I continued to stand and stare at the statue for a couple more minutes, sighing to myself as I keep asking myself if this is all worth it. It wasn't until I heard a familiar faunus' voice that I stopped staring and looked around before spotting Blake walking toward me.

"Jaune?"

"Oh hey, Blake." I greeted as I turned to face her. "Are you doing alright?"

"I wish I could say that," she admitted as she looked down and faced me. "Jaune... you're not mad at me are you?"

While I did find her obsession with the White Fang to be annoying that I gave up trying to convince her, I just couldn't bring myself to be angry with her. "No. Not at all." I shook my head. "Upset? Yeah. Mad. Not really."

She sighed in relief. "Regardless, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for the way I behaved lately. I know I've been very stubborn and have been pushing myself a lot I have been so busy trying to chase down the White Fang that I've forgotten about who am I'm doing it for."

I stared at her, slowly walking closer as I listen to her apology. "Blake..."

"I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday. You were only trying to help."

"I forgive you," I told her as I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Just try not to push yourself too hard. We were worried that you'd break because of your restless mission against the White Fang. Take it easy. We'll even help you out once the time is right."

She sniffed and wiped a tear as she looked at me back with a smile. "I know... which is why I changed my mind and decided to come to the dance tomorrow."

That statement shocked me. I was at a disbelief at first, seeing how to staunch refusal to come has been bothering us lately before beaming that she's finally convinced to come. "That's great! I'm happy that you're finally settling down. I'm really proud of you, Blake."

"Yeah, I know. I realized that I shouldn't be taking you guys for granted. You guys have been helping me even if you didn't have to. You have been the friends I never knew I wanted and I'm grateful for that."

"You're quite welcome. Just so you know, we're always here for you." I affirmed before letting her go.

She looked away as she gave blush on this tender moment before asking me a question. "So, you're still coming tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, of course, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Do you already have a date?" she asked as she held her forearm.

"Actually, I do. I'll be taking Pyrrha out."

"Oh," she sighed, looking noticeably disappointed. "I'm... happy for you then." she poked her head down.

"Thanks..." I nervously said but I could barely hide my empathy for her knowing that she was upset that she lost her chance to come with me. This was the only idea I had to cheer her up. "By the way, Sun is looking for a partner himself, if you ever need a date, you could go ask him."

She poked her head up and slightly cheered up. "Well, I don't mind taking Sun out," she remarked. "Thanks for the tip. I really appreciate it."

"Just remember that I'll also be seeing you," I said, giving a reassuring smile. "I won't be a stranger."

"I will," she replied, beaming. "Thanks again, Jaune."

"You're welcome."

She turned back and walked away before I knew it she was already gone. Knowing Blake, it wasn't a surprise. I looked back at the statue, but instead of feeling guilt I felt hope.

Yang actually did it. Whatever she did to finally get her to change her mind about the dance, I'll give her credit for that. Things just got a little better.

 **=o=**

1. _This is a false assumption. I do not drool._

2. _'Victory is in a simple soul.' In the Old Imperial Language._

* * *

I woke so late that the dorm was empty—even Ren, who was usually the last person to rise on weekends was nowhere to be found. Shaking my head and taking a shower, I went to the cafeteria to give myself a decent breakfast. I still have work in a few hours. Although the decorations at the ballroom were set for the most part, we still need to finalize its preparations.

Ordering for some mac n' cheese. I went to the tables and saw Sun waving at me, brightly smiling with a plate of bananas on his table. I moved toward him and sat at his front.

"Dude, have you heard? Blake's finally coming to the dance!" Sun enthusiastically said.

"Yeah, I know, she told me yesterday. Did she asked you out?"

"She did," he answered as he munches another banana before swallowing it. "Well, she said that she has her first dance saved for Yang. But man, I never expected she'd actually change her mind and even ask me out. What happened?"

"I don't know. Turned out, Yang was crazier than I expected." I said as began eating a few spoons of my macaroni. "Whatever she did to convince her, she really earned that dance."

"Yeah, you're right. It's nice to have things turning to our favor for a change, we really needed that."

"Amen to that," I said. "By the way, are you really coming to the dance with those?" I said gesturing to his usual outfit.

"Nah. I figured that I needed to wear something that's not going to get me kicked out. While it's not really fancy, I'll fit in just fine while still keeping my style."

"Good to hear." I nodded before asking for further inquiry. "So, how's Neptune?"

"He's doing fine…" Sun said hesitantly. I was puzzled at his disinclination that I felt like there is something he isn't telling.

"Sounds like there's something bothering you." I pointed out. "Are you two okay?"

"We're good. I'm just happy that he's following his heart, that's all."

"That's it?" I asked skeptically. "For a second, you were acting a little weird."

"I-It's nothing. We still just couldn't believe we're actually getting dates." he clarified before making a chuckle.

"Yeah, no one's coming alone tonight," I said. Well, not entirely true since Ruby doesn't appear to have a date, while Yang at least gets to have a dance with her partner.

He silently nodded as we went back into eating at our respective meals. Once we were done, Sun told me he'll see me later at the dance and went his separate way. I went to the ballroom to finish any remaining work before it could be used for the dance.

Our shift was quick, mostly because most of the arrangement was already taken care of yesterday. We just picked up where we left off.

"It looks like we're all set!" Yang chirped. The ballroom was transformed to be suited for a school prom. It would surely look dandy once night comes.

"Not quite yet," Weiss uttered, even though everything already looks great after hours of planning.

"What do you mean 'not quite yet'?!" Yang glared at her. "Don't tell me it still not fancy enough for you!"

"Just hold on for a second, Xiao Long." she went to a table and slightly adjusted the flower vase above it. "There. Now, you can really say we're all set."

Yang groaned as she rolls her eyes. "Remind me never to decorate with you again, Princess Snowflake."

"Trust me. I find that to be very beneficial for both of us." Weiss replied.

"I take it that everything's in order?" Miss Goodwitch asked, approaching us from the room's entrance.

"Yes, ma'am. Everything is in place." Weiss said as she gestures around the room. "We kept everything tidy and tested all the equipment. The ballroom is now ready to be used."

"Very good." Miss Goodwitch gave an approving nod as she started tapping on her tablet. "I knew I could depend on you into organizing this room. Consider yourselves relieved on your duty. You're going to need your remaining energy once the dance begins."

"Understood, ma'am. Thank you." Weiss bowed.

We promptly exited the ballroom. As we were heading back to our dorms, I approached Yang to acknowledge her successful attempt into coaxing Blake in going to the dance. "Hey, Yang. Good job on getting Blake to finally come. Thought that she's going to stay like that."

"I have my moments, Lady Killer." Yang boasted. "When I say I get things done, I get things done."

"I could definitely see that."

She looked back at her tracks before tapping her sister's shoulder "Hey, Rubes. Since you don't have a date. Maybe you could ask Jaune for a dance."

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she gives off a faint blush. She was noticeably trying to hold back as I do pretty much the same.

"C'mon, sis! I know you like him. It's not every day you get the chance of having a bold, dashing knight to a dance." Yang teased as I continue to walk and kept my face straight, trying my best not be embarrassed by this.

"Yeah, I know he's cool, but it's nothing like that," Ruby replied. Yep, I'm definitely not alone in the Tormented Younger Sibling Department.

"Well, if you don't want him, then maybe I could have him myself," Yang suggested before calling me. "Hey Jaune, you don't mind giving me a dance, right?"

"Yaaang!"

"Oh, you're jealous! You definitely want him."

"Knock it off, you two," Weiss said. By the look of her face and the tone of her voice, there is something that is infuriating her. I know Weiss can be grumpy, but there's something.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned about her mysteriously disheartened behavior.

She puffed. "I'm fine," she said. She's acting like Sun and Neptune recently. But that's probably just me. Of course, she's fine, she's dating someone on the same league as her and just wants a great impression. Why am I even worried about her?

We went to our respective dorms and spent the afternoon doing our own thing while preparing for the dance.

* * *

Glancing at the dorm room's clock and seeing that it's 8:54 P.M. I took one last look at the mirror displaying my own figure that was now clad in formal attire. My hair was combed to be less messy than usual and I donned a black tuxedo with red highlights and a red bow-tie as well as a gray vest underneath it.

Personally, I prefer ties instead of bows. I just find them a bit more stylish while still being simple and relatively more comfortable to wear. But overall, I look fine. I got to be grateful to Viola for providing me decent clothes over the years.

Putting aside an empty cup from where I consumed tanna from before dressing up since I didn't want any of it spilling on my tux, I decided that I'm all groomed up and ready to go.

The door opened as Ren walks in, donning a tux similarly designed as mine, but with purple highlights and a purple bow. "So, you're ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied. He gave a nod as I accompany him to where we would take our date out.

Earlier, Pyrrha and Nora told us to meet at a specific location marked at exactly 9:00 P.M. We didn't have any reason to object, so we had no choice but to comply. The marker eventually led us to the academy's statue monument, where it was empty save for the two of us.

Checking my scroll's clock, it was 8:58 P.M. Meaning we were just in time and just have to wait for a couple of minutes. We both just stood there behind the statue in awkward silence, barely minding each other and not making a sound aside from a single whistle I made to root out uneasiness between us as we waited for our partners.

Yeah, this is pretty much what hanging out with Ren feels like. He definitely doesn't talk unless spoken to or when he needs to. I don't mind that, though, as I appreciate his straightforwardness and professionalism. He does say and do some very weird stuff from time to time, for example, he talks about the 'machine spirit' or something when he sees someone use any type of technology. **[1]** This is probably because he was with Nora for who knows how long.

As the clock finally hits nine, sounds of footsteps promptly emitted behind us before Pyrrha's voice spoke up.

"Are you boys ready?"

Before any of us answered, we turned around and was stunned to see our partners clad in their formal wear, with our eyes widening and our jaws dropping, giving Ren an expression I thought I would never see him sport.

Pyrrha was wearing a long red dress reaching from her collar to her lower leg, still wearing the crown she regularly wears. Nora's pink dress, while being shorter than Pyrrha's, it was much more modest, and it suited her bright personality.

"So, Jaune. How do I look?" Pyrrha asked.

"I...uhh I...uhh I...uhh." I was too befuddled to make a proper answer, especially compared to Ren who immediately snapped out of it, probably because he was used to Nora and because he saw worse even if her closet turned out to be full of surprisingly harmless-looking clothes, at least that's what I remembered.

Pyrrha chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment then." she smiled.

I shook my head out of my stupefied state. I cleared my throat and asserted. "A-Alright, everyone. Now that we're here—let's have a night we won't forget, shall we?"

They all nodded before Pyrrha and Nora stepped in and offered their respective partners hands. While I may have held hands with many different girls in my life, I was still astounded when I took Pyrrha's hand. It was soft and gentle that it felt natural and it never felt forced when she held me back. I could only smile at her as I accompanied her to the ballroom with our teammates at our side.

When we arrived, the first thing we saw was Yang standing on a podium greeting guests as she spots us.

"Well, if it isn't Hero-boy and Wonder-girl!" Yang said, pointing at us with some finger guns. "Good to finally have you guys here."

"Nice to see you, too. You look great by the way." I responded, complimenting her white dress, which seems to have flattered her. "Place looks fantastic. Looks like our work did pay off." I looked at the ballroom and saw the results of our arrangement; it perfectly captured the young romantic atmosphere we were aiming for. The dance floor was already filled with pairs dancing to the ballad of the tune playing in the room. The music was being administered by two DJs wearing robotic helmets while still donning their tux.

"You betcha!" she pumped. "Now, what are you waiting for? Go on and have fun!"

We beamed at her for once more time as we moved past her and into the dance floor. I looked back at Pyrrha while standing in the middle of the floor, ignoring the glances directed at us as some of the recognizable faces of the first years.

"So…" Pyrrha uttered, as she slightly bobbed her head down and sported a slight blush.

I stared at her and noticed her nervousness, which puzzled me considering how normal it is for her to be at the center of attention. I decided to ask her to start dancing as I thought it would ease her mind for a bit. "Should we begin?" I held her hand once again.

"Of course." she promptly nodded and returned my offer and put her other hand on my shoulder as we began to slowly sway to the rhythm of the music.

Turning to my two other teammates, they were in the act as well. They looked back with bright smiles on their faces as Ren nods at me. I beamed at them before we went back enjoying our respective partners.

I kept eye-contact with Pyrrha's emerald eyes, just enjoying the music and not really caring around the world or anyone else around me (maybe except when I had to watch for other couples so I could not hit them in this packed ballroom.) Pyrrha was enjoying herself. Her dancing was adequate, not that it really mattered to me. The thing that was bothering me is that she would glance at her side from time to time and look somewhat anxious before hastily looking back at me.

"You look nervous. Have you ever danced before?" I asked her gently.

"Actually I did," she reassured, not really surprising given her popularity. "It just feels a bit strange that I actually doing it with someone I actually know. Most boys I danced with were strangers that some of my friends paired me up with."

"I certainly know how that feels." I sympathized, musing at the social events my family dragged me to. "Not a lot of boyfriends back home, do you?" I asked before realizing my poor choice of words. "I-I mean that you don't really have a lot of boys that are your friends, that's what I actually meant." I corrected myself as I chuckled nervously.

She giggled. "Next to none," she answered, glancing down. "You were actually one of my first."

"I am?" I pondered, raising one of my brows.

"Yes, you are. And a good one at that," she stated, brightly smiling at me.

I returned the smile, beneath it lies a semblance of shame when I remembered that I was still using her as a meat shield and intends to use her next mission, along with everyone my team. I kept my positive manner as I didn't want her or anyone to notice my dilemma and just want to enjoy that moment, without anything including my own self ruining it.

As I continued to dance with Pyrrha, I look around the other partners in the ballroom as they have a good time. One that caught my attention was Sun and Blake happily dancing with each other. Seeing them both content was uplifting since they were rather dispirited prior to this. Blake spotted me and flashed a smile. I returned the smile to her and glanced at the side to see her teammates standing by, all with satisfied looks on their faces.

Given what we have to go through this week, it's nice for good things to happen to us for once.

Minutes went by of being on Pyrrha's comforting company, we eventually stopped. Giving her another warm stare, I escorted her to our table, I did not let her go until she was seated comfortably on her chair.

"There's plenty more where that came from," I said as I simpered at her.

"Can't wait to see what you have to offer, then." she cooed.

I turned back and looked around the ballroom. "I'm just gonna roam around and explore. Need a drink?"

"I think I'll be fine, but thank you."

"Okay then. I'll be back before you know it." I gave her one last nod before walking away.

I headed to the buffet to get some free food, which I found to be the best part of these types of gatherings. Social events can be very boring, but on the bright side, you get to eat something nice without wasting a single dime whether it's a fine cuisine or a delicious dessert.

I stopped when I saw that I was being approached by the power that is himself. He was still wearing the same apparel as he was always been wearing, which I couldn't blame him enough since that's formal enough for himself. What irks me the most is that he still has his mug with him. I'm not sure if that's the same mug or if he had several mugs of similar design.

"Enjoying the night so far, Mr. Arc?"

I'm enjoying it as much as you enjoy seeing me suffer if that what's your asking. But as much as I want to ask him that, I'm afraid that I have to stay on his good side, otherwise, I'd be making him happy to throw me to even worse crap as retribution. "I can't really say that I don't," I answered as politely as I could.

"Very well. You should continue enjoy it while the night is still young. Like one's youth, it should not be taken for granted. Events such as these give you a chance to lift your spirits up before an upcoming storm." the Great & Powerful Ozpin stated.

Considering it was scheduled a day before we have our first mission, it won't be a surprise if it this was our last chance to celebrate before our possible demise. "Well, If anything I'm going to make that this won't be my last."

"I can reassure you; you are guaranteed to see more nights with the likes of this." Ozpin smiled at me before turning his head back to the dance floor. "If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. They are both considered art that requires physical prowess that the two are occasionally combined. **[2]** One example of their similarities would be two partners interlocking, although one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot. You happen to be proficient at both fields, have you not noticed?"

"My family thought me everything I need in life, and I'm grateful for that."

"Your family does deeply care about you; I hope you act the same to those around you. It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but its nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget."

Watching the ballroom again I could see Ren and Nora dance for a bit before being tangled together in an embrace, that image warmed my heart. While I still don't like Ozpin, I can definitely see what he's coming from.

"I shall be off now. Please have a nice evening. I have plans for you tomorrow." he said before walking away.

His last sentence froze me. What did he mean by that? When I finally stopped spacing out, he was already gone.

Scanning around the ballroom, I spotted some of my teachers; Professor Port was telling one of his tales to Doctor Oobleck. That was then I found where Ozpin went. He was beside Miss Goodwitch who I saw was invited by someone who looked like was the Atlesian guy on the hologram that day. He really might or might have not been the same person.

Before I tempted myself to approach Ozpin and question what does he plan to do with me, I saw Ruby alone on the punch table, looking downcast. Whether she was feeling alone or was still haunted by that night, I had a friend in need.

Grabbing a marshmallow and dipping it to the chocolate fountain before eating it whole. I went toward her and asked what was disturbing her.

"Hey," I said, prompting her to look up and face me across the table. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm just not really feeling this up." her expression was a little better than I thought, but she was undoubtedly perturbed by something. She was wearing a dark red dress that still fits her perky goth persona but she doesn't seem to be comfortable in it.

"Not really your kind of party, is it?"

"I guess you could say that." she nodded. "Don't get me wrong. I like parties as much as the next guy, but I'm not really into fancy parties where you dance with someone and stuff like that."

"You'll learn to appreciate it. I didn't like these types of parties either, I thought it was just so people could play matchmaker with you. But it also helps because you get to learn with others more." I told to her as I look at Sun and Blake who appeared to be done dancing and were now making their way back to their seat. "Blake looks like she's having fun," I added, before taking a sip.

"I'm really happy for her." Ruby beamed before frowning once again. "It's just too bad that I can't say the same for Weiss."

I almost spat out my punch over that revelation, had not I was able to swallow it and make me choke for a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Weiss came alone. She said that she had too much to focus on to worry about boys." she clarified.

Looking at my side and seeing Weiss all alone, trying to make a wilting white rose stand in vain before looking at Neptune who was chatting up with Sun and Blake. I could see why those two were anxious before this dance started. "Oh, yeah. I see that..."

"It sucks. I know Weiss can be a bit unbearable sometimes, but she's not really a bad person. Once you get to know her, she's actually an okay friend; shopping with her yesterday was pretty fun. It's pretty upsetting to see her alone." Ruby said.

I feel pity for her. While I dislike her attitude and we weren't really on the best of terms recently, Weiss can be a decent person to be around with. I could still remember having a pleasant conversation with her after our first day of class; I believed she deserved better.

Neptune apparently was done conversing with Sun and Blake. Finishing my punch, I decided to confront him about this. "I gotta go. Try to have fun for a bit. We might not even have another party like this."

"Trust me, I'll try." Ruby made an assuring nod.

I inconspicuously trailed Neptune as he walks right up to the stairs, blending with the crowd full of well-dressed students. I did receive glances from some students but they were oblivious with my intents that they immediately ignored me. Taking the stairs then taking a short walk through the halls of the second floor. I followed Neptune to the balcony, where he was leaning at the banister and staring up at the night sky.

He heard my footsteps entering the balcony and turned around. "Oh hey, Jaune." I just noticed he still has his goggles on his forehead while wearing that tux. Typical huntsman fashion sense. "Sooo, what's up?"

"I'm doing fine. How about you?" I replied calmly while feeling somewhat cold to him.

"Just getting some fresh air."

There was a pause for a few seconds. I kept staring at him while his sight wanders. "So, how's your partner?"

"Yeah, about that..." Neptune nervously uttered. "Listen... I kinda... screwed up."

"I know. You came to the dance alone, didn't you?" I queried.

He shamefully nodded. "Yeah, b-but I wasn't really lying when I said that someone asked me out, I just ended up rejecting her."

"Weiss..." I looked away for a second, musing about how she displayed affection to him. While it indeed baffles that she was enthused with him out of nowhere since they first met. She didn't really deserve to be rejected like that.

"She told you, didn't she?" he presumed.

"Not really, I just found out." I corrected, which seems to have slightly reassured him. "Why did you turn her down like that? You had trouble getting a date and you ruined your only chance!"

"Look, man, I wanted to take her out. I really do!" he claimed as he began to look down. "I just realize that it won't work out..."

"Won't work out? What do you mean?"

"It's kinda silly. Really." he gave a faint chuckle before making eye contact once more. "Would you promise not to tell anyone?"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms as I hesitantly took his word. "I cross my heart and hope to die. Just tell me what's wrong."

He sighed and admitted. "I can't dance."

My eyes widened as I froze in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"I can't dance, man—really!" he spurted. "Had I thought of that sooner, I wouldn't have bothered trying to pick someone up for this night. I may be skilled in some fields but dancing isn't one of them."

"But... didn't you said that you guys used to make music?"

"We did, I just didn't do any dancing. I only composed the music and did some of the singing. Well, my singing was auto-tuned—but you get the point. **[3]** "

I glanced at my side and sighed. "That explains it then." Although laughably pitiful, I emphasize with him. It's perfectly understandable that you don't want to make a fool of yourself of trying something you know you can't do, but I wish he would have told me that sooner instead of making me think that he got a date.

"Look, dude. I know I just made her lonely down there and it's my fault. Take her, I think you deserve her a lot more than I do; you're everything that I'm not. Just please don't tell anyone."

He's partially right, he's not a lying, cheating lowlife like me. I don't think I deserve her either, but if Weiss was to cheer up, then she deserves to be with someone she actually likes.

"Do you really like Weiss?" I asked him

"Yeah, I mean I really don't know her too well yet, but she seems pretty cool," he answered. "I know shouldn't have rejected her like that, but as I said, she's better off with you."

I was not letting two of my friends be lonely tonight. "Thanks, but... I think you should be one taking her. I mean, she approached you. And don't worry about dancing, I think you'll be fine."

"Yeah, but what am I going to tell her, man? I don't think I could show my face to her ever again after I blew my chance with her."

"Just remember what I told you yesterday." I reminded.

"Oh yeah, what was it again?!" he put his finger on his chin. "'No pickup lines. No suave moves. Just be yourself.' Was it?"

I firmly nodded, which seemed to have brightened him up.

"You sure about this?"

"I trusted my Mom when she told me that. I haven't found her to be wrong on something so far."

"You're such a momma's boy, aren't you?" he commented. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I love my mom too." he took a deep breath. "Well, if that's what got chicks into you, I'll take your word for it. Just remember not to tell anyone that I can't dance."

"Your secret is safe with me." I reaffirmed. "Go talk to her. I guarantee it'll make her night."

"Thanks, Jaune. You're too good for this world, I really mean it." he went close to me and offered me his fist.

"Don't mention it." I bumped his fist with mine to return the gesture.

He then walked past me and exited the balcony with his newfound confidence. I just stood there alone, feeling the breeze of the ballroom's exterior. While I was happy that I did help out some of my friends, it only made me wonder if I had gotten too close with my colleagues. I knew that I had to make bonds with them so that they could aid me through this school year, but I know that eventually, I had to abandon these people one way or the other. I pray that it wouldn't have to come to that.

I was too caught up at my own cogitations that I did not hear the footsteps coming from the heels of a certain redhead.

"Jaune?"

"Oh, Pyrrha." I turned my head out of surprise. "So, how's the party?"

"So far it's been great; Ren and Nora are having so much fun," she said and starts looking at me worryingly. "Are you okay? Is there something bothering you?" she asked as she steps in a little closer.

I held my blush. "N-N-No! I-I'm doing fine. You know these parties, they can get rowdy enough that you need some time alone." I explained.

"Uh-huh." she slowly nodded with hesitation. "Well, you don't mind if I stay here with you for a minute?"

"No, not at all. Why would I ever shun away the presence of my partner?"

"Well then." She moved closer until she was next beside me on the balcony.

Once again we were gazing at the nightly scenery of Beacon together. The scenery was vast enough that you could see the Beacon tower in all its glory there. Looking away from the view and at Pyrrha, her beautiful face was appreciating Beacon's landscape peacefully.

Turning my head down, I saw that her hand was resting on the stone banister beside mine. I was tempted to hold it, hesitantly guiding my hand to hers. I know I already held her hand at the dance, but this was different—we were alone with each other, and holding hands is a sign of affection that indicates something beyond friendships.

"Jaune..."

I immediately shook my hand away from hers when I was hovering my palm to the back of her hand. "Yeah, Pyrrha?"

She turned her head to me. "I just wanted to say that I'm very grateful to have you as my partner and teammate."

"You're quite welcome..."

"You've been a great friend and leader; for these past months, I cannot be more thankful for that. You've given me something I thought I would never have."

"Never have what?"

She looked back to the balcony. "You see, I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place."

That's what I'm also worried about. Aside from my guilt of upholding an image that I don't deserve, I also have to preserve my humanity before I become too much of an idol. It's cool being known more than just plain old Jaune Arc, but at the end of the day—that's just who I am. It's no wonder I get along with Pyrrha, she seems to be bearing the same problems that I'm trying to face or am preparing to face.

She faced me again. "Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people." she began smiling. "That's what I like about you. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you—I've made friendships that will last a lifetime; I cannot be more thankful than that."

I smiled knowing how she is appreciative of me. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel stricken at my own conscience that I managed to successfully gain her respect to further my selfish intentions. Our friendship may be genuine, but unfortunately—I still have my own plans.

There was a short pause afterward. Pyrrha then caught her breath. "I'm rambling, am I?"

"No worries. I'm grateful to have you too as well. We'll get through this together."

She looked at me brightly and went to stay at my side for a few more minutes until she decided to leave. "I'm going back downstairs. I'll see you there."

I watched her leave the balcony before I found myself to be alone once again, only this time—I felt peace within myself after spending some time with her; feelings of self-conflict suddenly vanished.

Maybe I shouldn't think about myself too hard for now.

 **=o=**

1\. _At some point before attending Beacon, Ren and Nora were once part of a machine cult that creates technology while worshipping them and a so-called 'Machine God', which is mostly referred to them as 'The Omnissiah'. Although they are no longer subscribed to the said cult, they seem to have kept some of the beliefs of that dogma._

2. _This is true. Due to the vast similarities between dancing and fighting, there are several martial arts and fighting styles that originated from dance or vice-versa. My fighting style, for example, mixes fencing with figure-skating._

3\. _This had more or less explained why Neptune's 'singing' sounded odd when I listened to them the first few times._

* * *

I went downstairs, once again hearing the indistinct murmurs of the partygoers enjoying the night. Watching the dance floor among the crowd, I saw Neptune dancing slowly with Weiss. Sure he was noticeably nervous, as he was watching his steps to make sure they don't land on her feet but Weiss looked really happy that Neptune finally decided to dance with her, and I couldn't help but smile.

Shifting my gaze, I turned again to Ren and Nora who looked like they were having the time of their life with their tango dance together with a few even cheering on them. These two are pretty surprisingly adept dancers themselves. The passionate synergy the two displays during the dance makes it quite hard to believe that these two aren't 'together-together' as Nora might say it.

I continued to watch the two for a moment before seeing something else that caught my attention. I spotted Penny dancing by herself while being escorted by two Atlesian Guardsmen. I'd approach Penny and ask her about what happened last Tuesday if it weren't for them, the fact I once ran away from two of these guys doesn't really help, so I decided to ignore her for now.

It was then I resumed walking. Unfortunately, I also wasn't paying attention to where I was heading, so I ended up colliding with someone. He turned around and I saw the unamused face of Cardin, holding a glass of root beer at his hand

Although he was a face I that did not bother me for a long time, my hands instinctively reached at my waist even though I didn't have any weapons holstered. I tried my best keeping a straight face and not show a semblance of fear as my inner being trembles at his glare.

But to my surprise, he didn't do anything to lash out, but instead his face softened. "Long time, no see, Arc."

Feeling a mixture of relief and surprise. I stood upright and replied. "Ditto, Winchester."

As much as I wanted to walk away, I just couldn't. There was something astonishing about Cardin's lack of hostility that I decided to remain where I was standing. He just looked for a second before talking once again. "Nice night, isn't it?"

I glanced away and looked at the ballroom for a second before making my response. "Yeah," I said, for the lack of a better statement.

Cardin took a sip from his drink and sighed as he gave me an empathic look. "Hey, I'm sorry for the way I treated you in the first month. I admit that I was an ass and you really didn't do anything to deserve what we did to you."

If he knew me more, I doubt he would be saying that but I was more than happy to accept his apology. Aside from locking me at my own locker and throwing saps that led me into the White Fang's shitlist, his bullying didn't really bother me that much. "All in the past. You're not picking on anyone, are you?"

"Nah, don't worry. It's mostly Russel and Dove the ones that screw around and I've trying to tell them to knock it off," he said in an annoyed tone. "Anyway, you're cool on my book, especially with what you did to the White Fang a few days to go; I never liked those freaks."

I sighed to myself and looked away from him for a moment. "Someone had to do it."

"And you were right to jump to the call." he smiled before raising his glass. "To Jauney-boy."

"To Jauney-boy." I only nodded as I wasn't holding a glass to return his toast.

"Say, has Russel and Dove tried messing with you lately?." he asked.

I shook my head. "Not really." Well, unless you count Russel's failed assassination attempt on me during the food fight last Monday.

"Oh good. I was afraid that those idiots would try to get us in trouble with you again." he wiped his forehead in relief.

You can say that again, I thought.

"So, we cool?" he asked.

"We cool." I gave him a friendly smile. He brightened up as he finished his drink. We were mutually satisfied that we are finally able to make up with each other.

I left Cardin as I began heading to the seats and approached Sun and Blake. Sun was wearing an outfit no less similar to his usual clothes, aside from the fact that his shirt was now dark gray instead of white and was wearing a white tie, basically keeping his style while somehow making it adequate enough to be counted as formal attire.

Blake was meanwhile wearing a purple dress that still retains her mysterious beauty while looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Yo, Jaune. I don't know what you just did, but I'm glad to see Neptune finally getting the guts to bust a move," Sun said, looking happier recently.

"You're welcome," I said before turning to his date. "You look beautiful tonight, Blake."

"Thanks." She flushed to her side, her bow noticeably twitching. "So... Jaune, you don't mind taking me out for a bit?"

"Sure," I replied. She beamed in excitement as I turned to Sun. "You okay with this, Sun?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I just saw her dance with Yang and it really didn't bother me. It's kinda sweet, actually." he reaffirmed.

"Right then," I said before gently taking Blake's hand. "Shall we?"

She nodded in response and stood up. I took her to the floor before partaking in a partner dance together.

Dancing with her was quite pleasant, she seemed to be enjoying my company with a smile that I don't usually see her sporting.

Minutes went of swaying our interconnected bodies went by without saying a single word to another, I noticed her look upset for a moment.

"Something bothering you?" I asked, concerned about her well-being.

"Oh, I-I'm fine. I was just thinking about the times when you came for my help; I still feel a little guilty for getting you involved in them," she answered.

"You don't need to worry about that," I reassured. "You're here, and we're all happy that you came; that's what matters right now."

"I guess you're right," she said. "I do really need this. It's actually nice to settle down for once in a while. Makes me ashamed of myself for being stubbornly restless for the past couple of days."

"We earned this," I said. "We're gonna have our first missions tomorrow, so why not make most out of this night while we still have the chance?"

"Can't argue with that. Thanks again for everything you've done to help me. You're one of the nicest people I've met. I don't think I'm ever going to regret coming here."

"Your welcome. Just doing what a good friend would do."

She frowned for a moment before quickly turning it upside down. We continued to dance for a few more minutes, savoring the soothing presence with each other.

"So, how's with you and Pyrrha?" Blake suddenly asked.

"We're doing great. I always wanted to know more about her aside from the things everyone already knew," I answered. "We're working on getting close. Well, we're not that close but we're getting there."

She hummed for a moment. "Well, whatever the case. I'll give my best wishes to both of you."

"Thanks. Our friendship means a lot to her; I'll do my best not to let her down."

Once we were done, I escorted her back to her seat where a content Sun was waiting.

"Thanks again," Blake said.

"You're welcome, Blake."

Sun gave me a thumbs-up as I gave him a nod, I turned back and was startled when Team NDGO suddenly came to my front. They were wearing dresses colored purple, green, gray and blue respectively.

"Oh, we finally found you!" Nebula squealed along with her teammates. "We're not bothering you, are we?"

"Wha-what?" I stammered before answering. "N-No. Don't sweat it, I'm fine."

"Oh, nice." Nebula said. "So, you don't mind if we take you out for a dance? Just for a bit? It won't take long."

I hesitated for a moment before I decided to accept as there wasn't any real harm of being invited to a casual dance from people who simply like you. "Sure why not, it's a party after all." Looks like yesterday's operation did pay off, for me at least. While I do find these girls to be attractive and consider myself lucky that they want me—I still don't plan at being polyamorous, I just thought I'd be nice with these girls and just give them a friendly dance.

"Yes!" Nebula pumped up with her teammates who are just as excited. Nebula turned back to her team. "Okay, as the leader I'll be taking him first. Don't worry, you'll get your chance, you'll just have to wait for your turn."

"As long as you're not hogging him, it's fine by me," Octavia said.

"Good." Nebula turned back to me and took my hand. "Now let us not waste any more time."

I looked back at Sun and Blake, who were giving confound looks as Nebula drags me to the dance floor.

And there I was—dancing with a fan that adores me for things that I did not intend to do. If Dad was here, he'd be so proud at the number of girls I managed to get a dance with. She was a little anxious, as she was partaking in a partner dance with her idol who she taught was a courageous hero, but she was nonetheless enjoying it and reduced her anxiety by talking about stuff about Vacuo and her team, which was a little too much that I didn't remember enough to write it down. But she did bring up a question that caught my attention.

"This is going to sound a little weird but... are you and Pyrrha together-together?"

I was instantly reminded that certain kinds of people enjoy pairing me with Pyrrha. That question slightly made me sweat, but I still managed to answer as politely and gently as I could.

"No, not yet anyway," I answered. "But we do care deeply of each other; it's what partners do."

"Okay then," she muttered. "Sorry for asking; we just get a little too curious sometimes, and because you two seem to be pretty close."

I just shrugged off my own musings and continued to dance. Their thoughts of me are pretty harmless for the most part and it's actually kind of cute for them to think that, if a bit weird.

Dew came in and cleared her throat. I gave a nod to Nebula and shifted to her teammate. Dew was softer and was slightly more confident than Nebula, though her agitation with me was still visible.

I continued to dance with her until it was Gwen's turn. I've heard of her being a ballet dancer so our dance contained more movement compared to the ones I had with my previous partners. Aside from that, the only thing I could say about her is that she had the most elegant dress among her team.

Lastly, it was Octavia's turn. Octavia was easily the most emotional among her teammates. She was pouting at me while her face was almost as red as her hair. It took a bit for her to calm down and showed that she was enjoying it as I gave her a friendly look.

I noticed Pyrrha on her back, standing in the middle of the dance floor, waiting for me. Octavia noticed my stare and looked back.

"Oh," she said. I nodded to her, as she gave me one last bright smile. I gave her spin before taking her back to her team.

"It was nice dancing with you, Jaune." Nebula said, with her and her teammates each giving satisfied looks.

"Thanks for the company, ladies. Now if you excuse me I have a partner to satisfy." I said before I turned back and went to Pyrrha and took her dance once more.

"Having fun, Mr. Arc?" she playfully asked.

"As a matter of fact, I certainly am." I coyly told her. "Don't worry though, I haven't forgotten about my partner."

She gave a chuckle. We swayed our bodies to the ballad when it eventually became slower and quieter as the lights in the ballroom fade down, giving the ballroom a more tranquil tone, with the dancers around us began moving slowly.

I gazed into Pyrrha's eyes as they illuminate in the room, her beautiful face and the soothing atmosphere of the ballroom made me forget all my troubles. All I could think of at the moment was her.

"So, I've been thinking about what you said earlier," I said. "You really never had a friend like me before, did you?"

She glanced down for a moment and hummed. "I used to have a few friends but I haven't spoken to them for a long time. I couldn't blame them. When I became increasingly famous, I got too distant from them that they thought that I have forgotten about them." She began to frown as I stood there and listened firmly. "They said that they couldn't see me the same way they saw me before I won my first tournament. Ever since then, competition became the only thing I've known, and I never made any meaningful relationships outside of my own family. That is until I met you and become part of this team, and I finally remembered what it's like to have friends again."

She returned her smile as I gave her a comforting embrace, showing her how much I genuinely care about her despite my self-serving behavior. I did see her be more than a pawn; I always enjoyed our study and training sessions together, and the more I have gotten close to her, the more I'm happy that she's my partner aside from her talents in battle. "As long as we're still partners, I'll always have your back."

I could feel her return the embrace as I comforted her on the dance floor. It was when I experienced such warm peace that I've never felt before, and I didn't want it to end and I'm sure she doesn't either.

As I was hugging her, I saw that Weiss was staring in front of me. She was still dancing with Neptune but her eyes were locked onto mine while her partner seems to be oblivious at her expression. I curiously stared back at her, putting us on eye contact for a few seconds until she began to look away from me regretfully. It puzzled me for a moment while keeping the same frown I held before abandoning the thought.

Pyrrha and I let go of each other afterward as continued to dance slowly to the music. This went on for another minute until it abruptly stopped as the spotlight illuminated above the DJ.

"May I have your attention please?" Nora's enthusiastically distinct voice spoke on the microphone. We all turned to the DJ's corner, only to see Nora behind the DJ mixer with Ren at her side, looking like he's making sure she isn't breaking anything. The two actual DJs were standing behind them.

Nora cleared her throat. "Alrighty, since we're in a party that was meant to show the best of us. Allow me to present to you The Pride of Mistral and her partner who recently foiled a bank robbery—The Defender of Podunk!"

Oh no, she's not going to do what I think she's doing, is she? I asked myself.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please give it up for Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!" she gestured and put the spotlight toward us.

We both froze as everyone in the room was staring at us. I turned to Pyrrha as we looked at each other, "Heh. Nora." I said, shrugging before offering my hand to her. "So, shall we?"

"I see why not," she replied with a smirk and took my hand.

The lights turned back on and a faster, upbeat song began playing. People say that I'm a decent fighter as well as a great dancer, and since Ozpin mentioned earlier that dancing and fighting are similar, Pyrrha and I are going to show this crowd how we spar.

We waltzed around the ballroom, displaying our synergy and coordination as partners. The audience began to cheer at our impressive choreography as Pyrrha and I savor the moment.

Our dance ended with a dip. We looked at each other as we panted while hearing the applause of everyone in the ballroom. We smiled before we stood back up and went to our table together and get some rest as everyone resumed their activities on the floor.

I have to admit, I'm rather thankful for Nora for bringing us to this moment, it's something that I'm never going to forget.

We settled down at the table, watching everyone enjoy their night. Our friends were having no less fun, with Neptune was dancing like crazy alone. The only thing that bothered me was I noticed that Ruby was missing. I shrugged off the thought, she was probably hiding somewhere considering as she's not a fan of these types of parties.

I suddenly heard doors being slammed open. I looked around until I saw two Atlesian Guardsmen searching around the ballroom as everyone goes with their own business not minding them. Seeing as they couldn't find what they're looking for they turned back and closed the door, making me somewhat curious at what they're up to, but chose to ignore it since it's not my problem.

Like all good things, it sadly had to end. It was already past midnight. Before it ended, there was a short awards ceremony. I won gentleman of the night, probably because of how everyone was charmed with me, with my previous exploit having something to do with it.

Amusingly, the best couple award went to Ren and Nora. Either because they both displayed great chemistry or maybe because Nora threatened to break the host's legs; knowing Nora, it's probably a little bit of both.

Well, it has been an overall amazing night that I almost forgot that I'll be taking my first tomorrow and I'm going to need all the rest I can get. I need to be in my best condition in the morning.

* * *

 _Editorial Note: To clarify the abrupt entry of the two Atlesian Guardsmen, there was a situation at the CCT while the dance was ongoing. Ruby managed to make a record of it when she sought it out. Although this excerpt has little to do with Jaune himself, it does become much more relevant in the following chapters._

The Red Rose Diaries: Dance Dance Infiltration.

The night has been… I dunno—fun, I guess? I'm not really into these types of parties. At least everyone else is having fun. Blake finally decided to go; Yang was hanging out with her pals as usual; Team JNPR was dancing happily together; heck, even Weiss got a dance with Neptune and I cannot be more happy for them. But what surprised me the most is that I saw Penny in the dance too! I really wanted to go talk to her, but there were guards that stopped anyone who tried to get near her. What a bummer, I guess we'll have to wait for another time to finally talk to each other again.

I was hanging around with myself when everyone was watching Jaune and Pyrrha dance. Those two dance really quite well together. I went outside to get some fresh air since I had nothing better to do inside, which is when I saw some ninja-girl running around, jumping from roof-to-roof and was heading to the Beacon Tower. She looked like she was up to no good and no one was trying to stop her, so I decided to go follow her and see what she's up to.

When I got the tower, I saw guards knocked out cold on the ground. I knew that I was going to face a villain, so I bought my rocket locker here and grabbed the Crescent Rose.

I went inside and went to the communications floor since it was the only floor where people actually go. I looked around the place while I had to deal with these stupid heels. I called to see if there was anyone around, which is when she decided to show herself. She suddenly started firing crystals of glass toward me which is when I was able to deflect them just in time.

I started shooting at her but she just blocks the bullets off with her hand as if it was nothing. I went in and tried to slash her down, only for her to flip back and fired explosive arrows at me with a bow that literally came out of nowhere.

Before we could keep on fighting, General Ironwood came out after the elevator opened, then suddenly she was gone. The only thing that he was able to see me and the cracks on the floor and he was not happy about it.

I'm in trouble again, aren't I?

* * *

 **And I thought the previous chapter was long. I mean 27,500+ words for a chapter centering on a dance and events leading up to it. What the frick, man. Considering that the next chapter is going to be based on four or five episodes, it may possibly surpass this chapter.**

 **I was hesitant to make Pyrrha use her semblance at a public match since Emerald said that she doesn't broadcast her power but I decided to say screw that and make use of it anyway because it was too much to pass the opportunity for her to use it against Umi's blades. It would have made a better discovery for Cinder's faction than 'oh shit, she moved a leg slightly with the Force'. I'm pretty sure the people of Remnant are already aware of Pyrrha's polarity, it's not something Pyrrha could hide especially with her fame, they just don't see her use it that much since she mostly uses it as desperation attacks and is conservative of her aura.**

 **You may notice that I refused to change the names and personalities of Jaune sisters after their canon reveal. I've instead decided to merge Bleu with Saphron into one, so technically, Saphron still exists and she still has Terra and Adrian, except in this universe, she's now a Huntress who lives in Mantle instead of Argus with a brainy personality and a different name. The rest of the Arc family, however, will be my own take, so instead of Jaune being second or third youngest, he is the youngest. Considering that Jaune's parents acted differently and were based off from two main characters from Ciaphas Cain, it makes sense for Jaune's family to be different in this universe, not just Jaune himself.**

 **If you are worried that the story is following canon too much, fear not, the following chapters will make the consequences of Jaune's actions to be much more obvious.**

 **(Response for Guest Reviews)**

 **Guest #1:**

 ** _"Oh, I can think of a few ways that Yang could use her mouth to "persuade" people. ;)"_**

 **Well, Taiyang taught her a few things, like how not to rip the skin by using someone else's mouth, instead of your own hands. She'd be right happy to show Blake that.** **(** **͡** **͜ʖ** **͡** **)**

 **"Mark":**

 **Oh hai, Mark.**

 **Finally, someone who points out some flaws in my writing. Your feedback is noted, you can now consider yourselves lucky.**


	9. Animal Control

_Editorial Note:_

 _Within the following day, Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch and General Ironwood were gathered in headmaster's office to discuss the previous day's attack shortly before the freshmen were gathered for their first mission. Ruby was also briefly summoned to the meeting to provide her observations for the said attack._

The Ozpin Logs: Beacon Tower Raid: The Morning After

It appears that during yesterday's dance, inside this very tower, the communications floor was raided by an agent of Salem. James immediately notified us when he witnessed the detriments of the building and the unconscious bodies of the guardsmen that were under his command.

Furthermore, he also saw a certain prodigy at the scene when he arrived when she was supposed to be enjoying the night with the rest of her friends. She claimed that she confronted a hostile infiltrator who managed to escape before James' arrival. Of course, since Ruby had no reason to attack James' men and that the recovered security footage proved her claims, it was unwise not to believe her. I admit, Beacon was not the best when it came to security but it should be noted that Salem chooses her henchmen very wisely and carefully, so even if our fortifications were more adequate, they would have still found a way to get through.

We decided to discuss the incident first thing in the morning; it was dead of the night and everyone needed some rest after investigating the commotion for a short period.

Once the sun rose, the three of us convened at my office to put yesterday's attack into discussion. I also convoked Ruby to provide us with her eyewitness accounts. Being a step forward for Salem's plans, it instigated James' usual paranoia.

"They were here..." James muttered before furiously slamming against my desk. "Ozpin, they were here!"

"We're very much aware of that! Thank you, James." Glynda replied. "Fantastic! You're aware! Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?!" he yelled when a signal came from the entrance, prompting me to open my office's door.

"Come in."

"Ah! Sorry, it took so long." Ruby said as she emerged from the entrance. "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here… It wasn't me."

"Thank you for coming, Ruby. How are you feeling?" I said as she makes a step forward.

"Okay, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad-guy-catching record wasn't oh-for-three." she answered cheerfully but with noticeable trepidation on her voice. She then made a faint chuckle before seeing all of our unamused expressions. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for, got it."

"Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about," James said as he walks towards her and held her shoulder. "You recognised a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could."

"Thank you, sir."

It was pleasing to know that despite his flaws, James proved that Atlesian military officials can be reasonable. Although he did worry her yesterday, not many authority figures are willing to hear what their subordinates have to say.

"Now, the general here has already informed us of the events that transpired last night," I said. "But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add."

"Was anyone else with her?" Glynda stepped in. "Did she look familiar to you at all?"

"I...I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass **[1]**. I don't think that was her semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked." she answered, hence bringing us the mysterious figure on the Bullhead during our initial meetings with Ruby.

"Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby." Glynda pointed out.

James was rather sceptical, however. "Imbedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone."

"Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby asked.

There was a short pause for a moment. While I am not going to deny the possibility as Salem is known for using proxies and scapegoats for her schemes, it is yet to be confirmed that those criminals have any sort of connection to her and her inner-circle. "It's possible. But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together."

"Actually, I-I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something… in the southeast. Just outside the Kingdom."

Although it did contradict her claim that the assailant did not mouth off a single word for her, I cannot be helped but be intrigued by her statement. Southeast outside Vale? That is where Quadrant 5 is located, the region containing Mountain Glenn. "Interesting."

"I thought you said the intruder never—" Glynda attempted to point out before I interjected.

"Thank you for your co-operation, Ruby. Why don't you go and spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you."

"Any time." she turned and headed for the exit.

"And Miss Rose…" I called her out before she was able to leave. "Please try and be ... discreet about this matter."

"Yes, sir." she nodded and left immediately.

Once she was no longer on the premisses, Glynda and James turned back and faced me. "Well, there we have it. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way." James proposed.

"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!?" Glynda huffed. "You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"

"Glynda!" I raised my arm and cut her off in the midst of her sentence before she could induce her unprofessional and unladylike vulgarity, which is especially unbearable when she is influenced by alcohol during a certain special day.

"Well, he does." she hissed, which I cannot deny; despite his best intention, James can be very reckless.

"She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale; Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

"I have served you faithfully for years..." James uttered. "But if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defences, and wait—!"

"It is not!" I asserted as I stood away from my chair. "You're a general, James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearers, or the scouts?"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "What are you suggesting?"

"Today is the day when the first-years have their first missions; there is a mission at Quadrant 5 that is yet to be accomplished, the same region where the Southeast outside of Vale is located. And I know a team suited for the job."

"But isn't that mission restricted to first years?" Glynda reminded.

"I'll be taking advantage of a loophole within the school's system," I said with an affirming nod. "I know that this mission is dangerous for freshmen, but it is not ordinary freshmen I will be sending."

Glynda puffed; she already knows which team I was referring to as they made spectacular performances in her class. "Wouldn't this be violating staff protocol?"

"Remember who you are talking to, Glynda." I firmly reminded. "As you know, I have done far worse deeds in the past to meet ends. And being the headmaster, the rules I made and dictate cannot be above me. I'll change them for myself if I have to."

"I only hope you know what you're doing," she muttered as she and James both gave me doubtful expressions, but despite this, they know that all they could do was comply.

"I can assure you. Neither of you would be disappointed."

Nor would they disappoint me. So Salem thinks she made some progress, doesn't she? Well, it is time to make ourselves even then.

 **=o=**

1\. _While it's possible to create glass through dust—specifically fire dust, the investigatory report of the attack actually indicates that the infiltrator used ice dust, which was proven after it melted minutes after._

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Animal Control**

* * *

 _Become a Huntsman_

 _They say you'll be a hero_

 _But is it worth it?_

 ** _-A Mistrali poem (a haiku, to be exact) found near a skeleton of an unidentified Huntsman inside a deep cave._**

As much as I want to deny it, but unfortunately, today's the day every blood-thirsty student was looking forward to. It has been bugging me the moment the dance was over. It was the first thought that came to me when I heard my alarm and woke up. I went to the bathroom to clean myself up, I washed my own face before gazing my own reflection at the mirror and convinced myself to relax; I have formidable teammates and I don't necessarily have to pick for something risky. First missions are usually made to be tame since we're just freshmen who're barely old enough to drink. Not to mention I heard that some experienced Huntsmen would be accompanying us so there's not really much to worry about.

Leaving the bathroom to take my breakfast. I went for a round of tanna and florn cakes. As I was enjoying it, I almost spilled my drink after hearing Nora suddenly scream when she learned that her box of pancake mix was empty. Glancing at my side then seeing Ren rubbing his belly with a satisfied look, he immediately stood upright and changed his expression back to its usual stoicism when he noticed me staring at him. But unfortunately, if Nora's face was any indication, she wasn't buying any of it.

So this how they both start this morning after their totally-platonic night together and even winning Best Couple. Well, I was done eating before things got heated between the two anyway.

I immediately went to literally pack my bags for the journey ahead of me. We plan to travel light, so we only carried what we need; it would be a pain in the ass to carry a stockpile of items while hunting for Grimm on a glorified errand that could last for days depending on how unfortunately long our assignment ends up becoming.

I looked away from my bag for a moment and looked at Pyrrha, she looked at me back and sported a blush at me, remembering the wonderful night we had recently.

"Good morning." I greeted her.

"Good morning…" she replied sheepishly as she glanced back at her bag for a moment

"So… big day ahead of us, huh?" I said while I was at the process of organizing my bag.

"Indeed it is." she nodded before giving a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll be right behind you.

I brightened up knowing that my teammates still down with me, even though I still intend to use them to carry me out of unwanted trouble.

"Alright," I said after I zipped my bag closed and stood up. "Is everyone all set?"

"I'm ready." Pyrrha stepped in, now wearing her sling bag.

"We're all geared up and ready to go!" Nora looked like she's cheered up, though she's noticeably agitated at Ren for eating her last batch of pancakes.

"Will all first-year students please report the amphitheater." Miss Goodwitch's voice said on the dorm building's P.A.

"That's our cue," I said as I led my team out of the dorms and navigated our way out of the residence hall.

"Hey guys, is it just me or do you guys hear barking?" Nora said as we were walking down the hallway before making a shrug. "Eh, it's probably just me."

"Speaking of animal noises, you still got our codes, right?" I asked.

"Yes, we do." Ren nodded. "Everything's the same, but if you haven't heard by now, my team attack with Nora are bear roars henceforth."

"That settles it then." I opened the building's door and left the building. "Okay, here we go." I breathed out.

We went to the auditorium and saw it packed full of students on their combat outfits who all looked eager for their upcoming field trip. We dropped our bags on the corner so we don't have to stand here for minutes with this weight. We stood behind the crowd of Beacon students, few of whom glanced upon recognizing us, particularly me and Pyrrha. I glanced around when I spotted Nebula and her team among the throng of Shade students who were right beside the column of Beacon's students. She waved at me as I waved back since I had a pleasant time her and her team yesterday, it was rude not to.

The murmuring faded once Miss Goodwitch spoke up. "Quiet! Quiet, please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." she announced.

The Great & Powerful Ozpin came into the podium and began his speech. "Today we stand together—united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago—the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began…" Blah, blah, blah. History. History. Colors. Colors. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. Peace. Harmony. Despotism is bad. You're gonna be Huntsmen. It's almost time for the Vytal Fiesta, amigos.

What, you really think I'm just gonna stand there and write his whole speech word for word about things you should already know about?

"…As first-year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission." he continued his speech as holographic boards containing missions began appearing around the sidelines. "Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

Well, that speech was a lot longer and less harsh than the one on our first day, that's for sure. At least he didn't make any subtle messages directed at me this time around.

The audience clapped at his enlightening words of encouragement as he walked away from the podium. Everyone on the crowd began to disperse as they went to a board so they could select a mission.

"What are we waiting for?! Come on, let's go!" Nora excitedly squealed before dashing to the nearest board, prompting the three of us to quickly follow her.

I only needed to pick the least dangerous mission I could get. I should also stay away from missions that take place inside Vale. I'm sure White Fang hit squads are still looking for me for what I did last week. When we browsed the board, we were met with three options and it felt like looking to a video game's difficulty selection that was out of order. **[1]** The board made it perfectly easy for me which to pick.

Search And Rescue:

• Missing Supplies

• Quadrant 4

• Mission Start: ASAP

Search And Destroy:

• Moderate Grimm Activity

• Quadrant 5

• Mission Start: ASAP

Village Security

• Increased Grimm Attacks

• Quadrant 5

• Mission Start: One Week

The second one's sounds simple enough as all we had to do was clear an area out of any Grimm and then we're off. The first one, while it certainly sounds trivial in paper, it'll probably be an annoying scavenger hunt, it would involve trekking through the wilderness which are densely packed full of Grimm, and who knows how large the search radius would be if we were going to look for several missing supplies; the journey would wind up longer than expected. The third one—Village Security wouldn't be bad if it wasn't for the label 'Increased Grimm Activity', plus, it doesn't start until next week; its credits to carrots that the village would have been destroyed by the time we get there if someone recently requested for Huntsmen once Grimm were multiplying in that location. Search And Destroy appeared to be less complicated than the other two that they were barely even a choice for me.

"All of these sound boring," Nora said, sounding disappointed for the lack of missions that would have caught for her excitement, meanwhile I was pleased with the straightforwardness of the near-absence of complexity of the second one.

"I suggest we take the first one." Pyrrha chimed in as she took a step forward. "We only needed to look for supplies while dealing with a few Grimm."

Normally, I would agree with Pyrrha's proposals, but this wasn't one of them. "Thank you, Pyrrha. But I believe we should start with the second one—Search and Destroy with moderate amounts of Grimm. Know we trained ourselves for this but we should start with something nice and slow for now. We just need to warm ourselves out before we take on something more challenging."

"Sounds like a reasonable choice, I really don't mind at all." she said; thankfully, without any further objection. This was not something I want to argue about.

"That's good enough for me!" Nora cheerfully complied. "The only thing I wanted is to smash Grimm with you guys again!"

"I don't know." Ren skeptically uttered. "Don't you think that this mission sounds a little too easy to be true?"

"What do you mean by that, Ren?" Pyrrha asked, looking as confused as I do.

"The mission says it only has moderate Grimm activity, but Village Security takes place in the same quadrant as that while it says that Grimm attack there are increasing."

Now that he mentioned it, it does seem odd that region says that the Grimm attacks were growing, yet only says it has moderate Grimm activity. But I thought he was worrying too much and I wasn't going to waste an opportunity into getting an easy mission.

"You're probably overthinking it. It probably says Grimm activity would only increase if the threat wasn't dealt with by now."

"Then why is the mission being placed along with it? It doesn't make sense." Pyrrha pointed out.

Gee, I don't know. I just wanted to take the relatively safest mission we could get for crying out loud.

"No, maybe you're right." Ren shook his head. "I'm overthinking this. Being in the same quadrant doesn't really mean it's in the exact same area. Let's just take what you're going with."

I sighed. "Search and Destroy it is then." Without further ado, I reached the selection with my finger. I typed in my team's name and entered it when a message popped up saying that we accepted the mission and gave us instructions on what to do next. I turned to my team and nodded at them. "Alright, our Huntsman would be waiting for us at dock 13. Let's get to it."

"I can't wait! I've never been this excited since we got to Beacon. May the rise of Team Awesome commence!" Nora pumped.

Yeah, hopefully, it won't involve any stupid large-class Grimm that complicates things nor would it become an annoying mishap like that time with Forever Fall. I have been through enough misadventures for the past week and the week before that I hope that this would be over before I know it. With the training I've been giving my team these past months, I hope it pays off.

And was it just me or was I being watched all of the sudden? Either way, I don't want to think about it.

Since the missions begin the moment we accepted it, we picked up our bags and immediately left the amphitheater and traversed through the courtyard that was populated with students who were also heading to the Bullhead docks after getting their own assignments as well as uniformed upperclassmen who were either watching the freshmen or were minding their own businesses. Among these was Coco and Velvet who were taking a snack at a bench, with the former still wearing her signature beret and sunglasses combo even with her school uniform. Coco noticed me and shot me a finger gun gesture with a smile as her way of giving her regards.

We made our way to dock thirteen, with the Bullhead and the Huntsman waiting for us. His stature was somewhat lanky, he was wearing a safari outfit that contained a brown longcoat and pith helmet. We did not notice who it was until he turned to face us. Much to our surprise…

"Why, hello my good students!" Our history and social studies teachers pumped up, with all of us confounded at this unexpected revelation that even Nora was baffled.

"Professor Oobleck?!" I exclaimed. Having my jabbering teacher of mine was not exactly something I anticipated.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, children, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship." he rambled as he walks back and forth in front of us. By some sort of enigmatic miracle, I somehow managed to record everything he said despite his chattering being so rapid, it was borderline incomprehensible. He then leaned in front of my face to remind me of something I should have thought when I was at his presence, at least he spoke comparatively clearly this time. "And its _Doctor_ Oobleck, I didn't earn a Ph.D. for fun thank you very much."

He got off my face and I was still unsure of how to think of this. "Come now, children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind...schedule!" he said for the lack of a better word dashing to the Bullhead within a second.

Well, I didn't know what to expect. Every professor here were all fully-trained huntsman after all but with all due respect for the guy, pro—Doctor Oobleck wasn't exactly the first person that comes to mind when one thinks about an experienced Huntsman. The thought only made you think about him killing Grimm by utterly babbling them about Remnant's history or politics.

"That was a surprise," Pyrrha said, giving us a flabbergasted look as she was noticeably grasping that an eccentric social studies professor would be our chaperone for this task.

"Well, he did manage to be qualified enough to become one of Beacon's teachers." Ren pointed out.

"But still, who would have known we'd be saving the world with him of all people?" Nora asked rhetorically, and this was his fellow member of the motor-mouth club.

"You guys are going to save the world?" Another high-pitched voice said. We all turned back and saw Ruby and her team approaching us. "You're going on world-saving missions without us? That makes me a little jealous, but I'm really happy for you."

"Don't sweat it, Ruby. We're all working on saving the world. Our mission isn't really that much of a big deal." I reaffirmed warmly. "Speaking of missions, where you guys going?"

"Oh, just outside the kingdom. We couldn't get our hands on the mission we wanted so we just decided to go protect a village. The Huntsman we are shadowing is some kind of sheriff, I think."

"Unfortunately for us, the mission does not start until next week." Weiss irritatingly murmured.

Protecting a village that starts next week. Huh, sounds like the same mission on our board. Though it's pretty weird why they would wait a week for a defense mission, these aren't exactly the type of girls I expected to take that mission.

"How about you? Where are you going?" Yang inquired.

"Oh, just somewhere outside the kingdom like you guys," I answered. "Nothing really special, just going get rid of the Grimm lurking around the area."

"Search And Destroy, right?" she replied and then gave an envied expression. "Lucky you, we were considering that ourselves, but we ended up with this because the stupid board says the one we were picking was not for first years and it was already taken, bah."

"Aren't there any other Search and Destroy missions you could find?" Ren asked.

"Not really." Blake shook her head, looking disinterested again. "We decided to go with Village Security because Ruby wanted to help some locals. Not really the mission we exactly wanted, but at least we'll be protectors or whatever."

I hummed for a moment. For whatever reason, my internal lie-detector told me that there was something they weren't telling. It didn't really bother me much so I dropped the thought.

"Yo, a little birdie told us that you girls won't be leaving till next week," Sun said as he and Neptune suddenly jumped in.

"Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune proposed.

"Sounds cool. Anything to keep me busy while I'm stuck here." Yang assented. "Where are you two off to, by the way?"

"We're shadowing crime specialists. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." Neptune answered.

Looks like Sun really kept his word about assisting Vale's police, that's nice. I always wanted to be a detective; solving mysteries, fighting crime, all saving the day, all that kind of stuff. If I wasn't fretting about White Fang assassins, I would have certainly chosen to go on a mission inside the safety of Vale's walls and do missions that involve minimum fighting such as that.

"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know... normal." Sun shrugged at the last word. Like I previously said, I would have done the same if I wasn't trying to lay low from those terrorists after facing them exactly three times, especially when they had a homicidal killer on their side.

"Well…" I tried to speak when Doctor Oobleck shouted from the Bullhead, reminding us about the task at hand.

"Four minutes, children!" he then instantly returned back to the Bullhead afterward.

"Sorry, guys." I apologized. "Duty calls."

"You guys are going with Professor Oobleck?" Weiss raised her brow and looked at us disbelievingly.

"Don't worry about him. The doc is completely transparent with us. He may talk too fast, but I'm sure he means well."

"Well, suit yourself," Yang said. "Good luck out there."

"Stay safe, everyone!" Ruby cheerfully waved her hand.

"Kick some ass for us, Jaune. We wish you luck." Sun encouragingly said.

"You too, guys," I said, smiling at them before turning to my teammates. "Alright, let's not keep the doctor waiting."

"Search And Destroy, here we come!" Nora pumped enthusiastically as we went to embark on the Bullhead.

Staring at the Bullhead. I gave an agitated sigh as I have to travel by air again and to think I would have gotten used it by now considering how many times I went to the city and back to Beacon.

I really should have bought promethazine **[3]** with me.

 **=o=**

1\. _Missions Variety is limited for students at combat academies. While higher level missions are restricted to upperclassmen, many other high-tier missions are outright unavailable to students. Granted, these types of missions require full-huntsman training before they become available._

2.. T _o anyone who is interested,_ _Team RWBY's aforementioned mission is featured in the extras titled 'Another Side, Another Story' when it gets released_

3. _A drug used to treat motion-sickness and allergies. Back when Jaune used to have motion-sickness, he usually brings one of these with him. Obviously, this is not one of those times._

* * *

The ride to our destination only took fifteen to twenty minutes, but for me, it felt like it took hours. I have spent these minutes trying to get ahold myself while I try to endure my stomach's abysmal relationship with air travel. At least the air is open this time, I hope Mother Nature doesn't mind getting puked once... or twice.

"I recommend you inhale the fresh air, Mr. Arc. It would help you tolerate the flight slightly longer." Doctor Oobleck advised loudly enough so I could hear him as we were traveling on the Bullhead, which would have been helpful if I wasn't doing that because the open air was right in front of me for the entire duration of the flight it was why I even lasted that long.

I decided to just throw it outside to the woodlands at the outskirts of Vale, making feel a little better but I was still having headaches from the flight. There goes the florn cakes I just ate.

"It was a surprise to see you accompanying us, Doctor. We didn't see you much of a warrior." Pyrrha remarked.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual. But I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." he replied.

"Tussles? You mean like the mushrooms?" Nora said after mishearing the doctor's uttering.

"They're truffles, Nora." Ren corrected.

"Like the sprout, right?"

"Those would be brussels."

"Whatever. You still owe me food, Ren." Nora growled. Ren just sighed and looked away from her.

"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!"

I finally caught my breath and spoke. "So, not only we are on a hunt for Grimm, but we're also on a history tour."

"That's one way to put it! The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"

"Mountain Glenn..." Pyrrha uttered.

"Huh?" I did hear about Mountain Glenn but unfortunately, I haven't been paying attention enough to know more beyond its name, appearance, and location.

"Mountain Glenn was an expansion of Vale before it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city," Ren explained.

"Precisely, Mr. Ren! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder." Doctor Oobleck added.

I gulped upon learning about it being overrun. In hindsight, I should have avoided this quadrant but I was so attracted by its apparent simplicity I didn't think of how eerily dangerous this region was.

There wasn't much time to panic and it was too late to convince the pilot to go back because we already have gotten past its walls once I found out that going here may not be a good idea. The place looked as bad, if not worse, as Ren and Doctor Oobleck described it to be. It was literally a ghost town, with nothing but defunct roads and dilapidated buildings everywhere, along with an eerily monotonous atmosphere, containing almost no color aside from shades of black, white and maybe brown; even the sky looked like it became dull the moment we entered the area. I spotted a few Grimm in the area too, hopefully, those would be the only Grimm I would encounter in this wretched hive.

I noticed the walls presenting the region had its text crossed out with black paint along with the large words written 'KEEP OUT'. Wonderful, I felt like I won a ticket to what could be the worst vacation spot in Vale.

"We're in the pipe, five-by-five!" the pilot's female voice announced. No turning back from this, unfortunately. This had better be a quick tour.

The Bullhead descended and hovered above the empty street. We all leaped off the Bullhead before it flew away. We all had our weapons ready—except for the prof..erm..doctor, who just made a sip from his container because even in this mission, he still can't let go of his coffee. I would have bought my tanna too if we didn't leave our bags at Beacon due to his instructions and because we want to do this with as little weight as possible.

We scanned around the abandoned ruins of a city, armed and ready, only to find nothing but maybe a few tumbleweeds at a distance despite this place being said to be overrun. It was a relief, honestly; a place with little Grimm was somewhere I wanted to take as my first assignment. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as I thought.

Doctor Oobleck broke the silence and called for our attention. "Alright! You four may still be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntsmen has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Nora saluted.

"Just call me doctor, Miss Valkyrie. No need to be so overly formal now. I may be far above your ranks but I still prefer my humble title as a doctor."

"Of course, doctor!"

"So, what do we do now, doctor?" I asked

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it! As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm."

"Grimm?" I said as we looked at each other confused at his redundancy.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred meters from us at this very moment." he said, prompting us to quickly turn around spot a single Beowolf coming emerging from a corner. We went to combat stances before Doctor Oobleck ordered us to halt. "Stop!" We lowered our weapons and stare at him puzzlingly. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."

I immediately got what he is trying to convey, making me rather glad that we didn't storm the Beowolf the second we saw it as it would undoubtedly attract a horde. "So... what do you suggest we'd do?" I asked.

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

"How long do we wait then?" Pyrrha inquired.

"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months."

That long? Now I know why Team CFVY's mission took almost a week.

"Waiting, schmaiting. Couldn't we just blow them up?" Nora impatiently suggested.

"That would be a foolish move, Miss Valkyrie. While Grimm is known to be attracted to negativity, they can sense noise as well similar to that of an animal, and let's not forget about their reactions to said noise," he explained. Nora calmed down after his lecture but still noticeably her aggressive self per the norm. Doctor Oobleck then noticed a disconcerting sight. "…and there's the whole pack."

We alarmingly looked back and saw more and more crawling out shortly before they turned to our direction and growled at our presence.

Oh crap, I thought. I gripped the handle of my sword firmly as they stare at me with their red eyes as they began charging at us.

"And now they've seen us."

Yeah, we could see that!

"I guess tracking them won't be necessary," I said, aiming my pistol at the pack who was getting near us by the second. "What should we do now, doctor?"

"You topped combat class last semester with flying colors, did you not? I'm sure you know it by now, Jaune!"

I started to ponder hastily what to do with this horde while trying to calm down and not feed more fear to the incoming Grimm. Fleeing was simply not the option; I'm supposed to be a fearless leader, after all. I've managed to make the coin drop before the pack was able to get close to us. "Nora, smoke."

"Without another word!" Nora expeditiously changed her hammer to its launcher form and fired a smoke grenade within the pack.

The Beos went to a halt as pink smog began taking over their surroundings. I turned over to Pyrrha and nodded to her. I expanded my shield before Pyrrha got on it and I threw her to the pack as Pyrrha began spinning with her spear. Ren, Nora and I charged in, clearing the area of remaining Grimm.

Thanks to our weapons being slightly upgraded, the Grimm fell quicker than they were before. My laspistol managed to shot down the Beowolves with only one or two shots, this pistol was made to cut down aura and since the Grimm lack any of them and Beos being one of the weakest, they were barely a threat.

A distant growl was heard as another batch of Beowolves began rushing toward us. We all switched to our range weapons and opened fire, running a third of the wave before switching back to melee once they got close (also so I could save ammo. Laser ammo packs are not cheap, especially since I wasn't able to loot anyone recently.) With our coordination and combined strengths, they never stood a chance.

"Fear us, soulless creatures, for we are Team Awesome!" Nora boasted after smashing the head of the last Beowolf flat. "All your attempts to destroy us are in vain."

If the Grimm wasn't souless, they'd be wetting themselves by now, not because of Nora's cheesy boasting but on how effective we operated, and we would have gotten home and called it a day.

"Excellent work, students, as expected from a team with the likes of yours." Doctor Oobleck remarked. "But let us not celebrate yet. This is without a doubt, the first of many of Grimm encounters we will be having inside this desolate community. Let us move forth."

My teammates all nodded and followed him while I panted for a few seconds before complying as well. Our weapons still unsheathed as Grimm could be around every corner.

It's pretty obvious that I don't like this place; I already wanted to get out and I've only been here for a few minutes.

 **=o=**

1\. _The quadrant was not in the city itself but considered itself as a part of the kingdom prior to being overrun and becoming too inhospitable._

* * *

To summarize what we have been doing for the past couple of hours, we have been doing the same routine of wandering around the ruins and killing every Grimm we come across as I look around and scour for things I could use. We have been racking kills of a substantial amount of Grimm and it is still said that the Grimm numbers here are still far more than plentiful, making me question the actual degree of Grimm activity around this area. Honestly, it was refreshing to fight the Grimm again; I almost forgot how easy it is to take out the more common, lower class Grimm, especially with teammates at your side.

"Alright, now. That's it for the duration of the morning! Let's take a short break and have your midday meals. We cannot afford to have empty stomachs during a hunt, it would be unbeneficial for the morale. So sit down and rest! I have bought food for us to eat." Doctor Oobleck announced.

"Oh, finally!" Nora said before turning to Ren. "You better not hog the food this time," Ren replied by rolling his eyes.

I pulled my sword from one of the Beowolf's decaying corpses and went to catch up with the others. "Hey, Doctor. Correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't this area supposed to only have moderate Grimm activity?" I questioned. "This is literally the 157th Grimm we just killed; I know this because Nora was keeping track of our total kill count. I don't know exactly how many Grimm defines what's high or low, but I'm pretty sure that number is not moderate."

Doctor Oobleck took a few seconds to star at me and be baffled by my statement. "Moderate Grimm Activity? On Mountain Glenn? Is that what the missions briefing told you? Surely there has to be some error at the mission board." he remarked. "Mountain Glenn has been destroyed for more than a decade, it's ridiculous to think that it would contain only a moderate amount of Grimm after years of infestation! Come to think of it—this mission was not supposed to be a available for freshmen, making it strangely suspicious that you managed to take this assignment in spite of how hazardous it is. Then again you are considered to be one of the most exceptional freshmen we had in a long run and you have been doing spectacular so far. So regardless of what the answer is—this is our mission now and we are not going anywhere until it is completed or if there is a particularly dire situation that would force us into a retreat."

This pretty much confirmed my fear of this being a more dangerous mission than it was presented. If I were aware that this would be a high-risk mission inside one of the worst places in the kingdom I would have been searching for missing supplies on the woods like crazy by now or maybe even wait for a stupid settlement defense mission for next week that takes place on the very same quadrant. I was terrified but I also was curiously suspicious at what made the board label it as something easier than it is, it really made me think.

I also realized something—Yang mentioned earlier that they were trying to sign themselves up for a Search And Destroy mission but said that it was restricted to them since they were first-years and that it was already taken. This could be the very same mission that they were trying to take but ended up going to me because for some reason it presents itself to us as a task that was considered to be neither too easy nor too difficult and even allowed us to take it. Something or someone wants me here and I intend to find out. I don't know why would Team RWBY want this particular mission **[1]** , but whatever the reason, I'd kill to switch places.

I silently groaned and decide to go and take my lunch. I lost my breakfast earlier on the Bullhead, so my stomach was lacking some food.

"Sounds a little scary, but I'm okay with it! I get smash more Grimm and have fun for a bit longer." Nora cheerfully chirped. "We shouldn't have too much trouble because we're like the best of the best!"

Thankfully, even with years worth of achievements on her belt, Pyrrha wasn't overconfident. "We should be more careful, regardless. If it's true that this mission is actually more dangerous than what it is presented to us, then we should stay alert as something unexpected may happen.

Ren backed her up. "Pyrrha's right, Nora. While we may be recognized as one of the most, if not most remarkable first years of the academy, we cannot afford to be reckless at something more serious than we anticipated. This is still our first mission, after all."

"I couldn't agree more," I uttered before settling down and taking my lunch. Nora frowned before nodding at the acknowledgment of how rigorous this mission could be. At least, some sense is knocked into her.

We were all sitting down at a circle, taking our respective meals that the doctor bought for the trip. All I ate was canned soup, which wasn't much but at least I got something to eat; beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes. Luckily for Nora, the doctor for whatever semblance of reason bought a turkey which Nora was able to have most for herself. It wasn't cooked when it was shown to us but there's nothing a little fire dust won't do. She did share a few of the pieces for us (well Ren got the smallest there is but he doesn't seem to mind, at least it made Nora let go of her grudge.), but she ate almost the entire thing within _four_ seconds. I kid you not, _four seconds_ ; I counted. Makes me wonder why she isn't fat by now.

In the middle of our break, something went to Pyrrha's mind and decided to ask Doctor Oobleck about it. "Excuse me, doctor. I ask this with all due respect and forgive me if I offend you, but shouldn't you be assisting us in combat? You're an experienced Huntsman, are you not?"

She did bought up a good question. For the past couple hours of wandering around this place looking for Grimm to kill, I haven't seen him take up arms and fight so far, he only stood behind the sidelines while occasionally providing instructions if necessary (which is something I wish I was doing instead) and analyzing anything anomalous that caught his attention. I know that the Huntsman you are shadowing isn't exactly here to hold your hand and it's more rather that we are here to assist him, but I haven't seen him do Huntsman stuff yet.

"Ah, but I am in action! Scouring the ruins of this once-great city for any signs of irregularity! Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, children. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination!" Doctor Oobleck answered. "Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that."

Except this was not exactly what I signed up for. I muttered to myself as the good doctor finished eating picked up his belongings and began leading the way.

We caught up and finished our lunch before going back to following on whatever we were doing for hours to come.

 **=o=**

1\. _Few days prior to that mission, we discovered that the White Fang was holding a hideout somewhere in the southeast of Vale. When our attempt to take the Search and Destroy mission failed, we decided to take the Village Security since it was located in the same quadrant. We were hesitant to choose that mission since it begins within the following week and Blake wanted to stop the White Fang a soon as possible, but it was the only alternative we could make. We planned on scouting the area in the meantime but we would later discover that it was unnecessary thanks to a certain someone's actions._

* * *

I don't think it's necessary to write down what I did the whole afternoon, otherwise, I'd be telling you that we'd trekked around, found some Grimm and killed it, took any items of value, rinse and repeat.

Much to my relief, despite being a place that was supposed to be extremely hazardous, it wasn't really that exciting as I worried it would be. We just fought the same Beowolf pack with a few Scavers and an occasional Ursa. It was actually less dangerous, if a bit longer, than the missions I took at Pucelle during the break. I don't know if it's because of my team's cohesion or is it because the quantity of Grimm on the area was just so high that it was classified as difficult, but in actuality, this mission isn't actually all that bad.

"Alright students. I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." Doctor Oobleck finally announced after we finished dispatching the last Grimm pack as he removes his backpack. Everyone was panting for air out of exhaustion while wiping off their own sweat. "You three, set up camp in that building." he threw his bag to the group before Pyrrha catches it. "Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those... creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Jaune." he walks forth, gesturing me to follow him.

"You're the doc, doc." I nodded as I trail him to wherever he is taking me.

He took me around the edge of the mountain that overlooks the forest. There I witnessed six mammoth-like Grimm—Goliaths, to be exact—all lined up marching through the forest, one of them making a howl loud enough to be heard from where I was.

Knowing that these Grimm were far too much for us to handle, it was obviously better to keep them unprovoked. "I'm guessing we're only going to watch them until they go away, right?"

"Correct, and since even the strongest of our combined attacks will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size, there was no reason for use to induce its wrath." the doctor nodded.

I made a relieved sigh. "So, what'll we do if it comes here and attack?" I then asked for good measure. In case they could feel our emotions and aura from our location, it was better to stay prepared.

"Fret not, Jaune. Those Goliaths are not concerned with us," he says before giving me another lecture, unlike most of his history lessons, this one was engrossing enough that I was able to perceive his every word. "Not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for with will and that killing one human will only bring more."

So, what he was telling me is that the Goliaths have lived long enough to gain the ability to think. Grimm are still Grimm, though. Intelligence or no, the only good ones are dead ones and it was our job to make them 'good'. Remnant is never going to know peace until the very last Grimm is vanquished. Someone needs to get rid of those things and that person is sure as hell won't be me. As much as I wanted them gone like any other normal person, Doctor Oobleck was right about them being too dangerous to provoke.

"What do think they're doing near the city anyway?" I asked.

"Waiting."

I widened my eyes and turned my head to him. "Waiting for what exactly?"

"Their next prey; the meaning of their existence; maybe even death. All we know is that they're waiting for something." he answered as he stood firmly at the group, one of them was facing right toward the city before turning back to follow the rest and continued to follow the others.

Since the Goliaths were leaving and apparently have no intent on going to the city (hopefully). Doctor Oobleck decided we were done watching over them and left the post.

"So… doc." I began uttering as I follow him back to regroup with the others.

"What is it, Jaune?"

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"Let me guess, you are wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" he stopped as he turned toward me.

Wait, you have? I thought as I paused seeing he hasn't questioned me yet before going back to asking him. "Actually, I just wanted to ask on what made you become a Huntsman." I mean, he could have just chosen to be a regular professor—I mean doctor or whatever, but I was curious about what made him follow a life of a professional monster-slayer.

"Look around and tell me what you see." he said.

"A ruined city beyond recovery that is filled with monsters?" I answered. Hey, don't judge me, I only did what I was told.

"In a way, that is correct. It's true that this is a ruins a city that was once a prosperous community. But you have to ask yourself, what if it was never successfully overrun by Grimm? Of course, the answer would be is that this place would still be full of life and no one would have fell as a victim during its fall. But that's the point, to think about the lives that could have been saved during that tragedy." he said, continuing to walk as I followed and listen. "As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom." We stopped and he looked at our surroundings. "I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity—an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger."

The doctor briefly walked away from me as I stood to ponder his words. When he mentioned about what could have been, I only thought of something that I didn't want to think about as I had been trying to bury that memory for years now. It may have been his motivation for becoming a Huntsman, but to me, it was why I gave up on my old dream of becoming one. I'm just not cut out for this job, no matter how many people say otherwise.

"I am a Huntsman, Jaune because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be." he halted shortly afterward to ask me one more question. "What about you?"

"What about me?" I looked back up to face the doctor and answered firmly as I masked my own insecurity. "Not only I want to live up to my ancestor's greatness, but I also want to help those who couldn't help themselves. I couldn't just stand there and watch people suffer, I have to do something. Hence why I'm here." I answered. If I was talking as my younger self, I wouldn't be lying. But I am no longer the boy that I used to be. Now I'm just some guy who was unfortunate enough to be living his childhood dream who is just afraid of losing his life and dignity.

"I hope you're being sincere at what you just said." the doctor gave me a smile before he turned his back to return to the others as I stood there for the minute, gazing at the sky before the sun sets.

Sadly, I'm not…

Hours have past and it was already night. We all sat around a campfire inside one of the city's crumbled buildings that were fortified enough for us to stay the night. Somehow, it wasn't that uncomfortable; the temperature was adequately warm, and there weren't a lot of mosquitos unlike most other times I went camping with my family. I also didn't have to worry much about the Grimm because the surrounding area was devoid of them since we spent almost all day clearing the ruins. Still, I'll keep my pistol under my pillow as I can't really be a hundred percent sure.

"Here's a meal you children look like you could use." Doctor Oobleck tossed a pack of marshmallows that was caught by Nora.

"Marshmallows!" she cheerfully squealed as she tore the plastic open.

"There's more food at my bag; feel free to have them. Now, eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?"

Pyrrha raised her hand. "I'll do it, Doctor."

"Splendid! I'll be upstairs if any of you need me for anything if so, do not hesitate to call me. Have a pleasant night, children!" Doctor Oobleck said before bolting away leaving only us four around the campfire.

We all unfolded our sleeping bags around the fire. Before going to bed, we all gathered around to roast our marshmallows. In retrospect, I would have bought my guitar and play some acoustics to add to the camping feel and make the atmosphere of this wasteland less ominous. But then again, Doctor Oobleck said that we don't need to carry anything unnecessary so the only thing I could do was whistle. It did its job of lightening the mood, so it was better than nothing.

Nora munches on her marshmallows once it was roasted enough, meanwhile Ren approached me to ask about something.

"Hey, Jaune did Doctor Oobleck asked you about why you wanted to become a Huntsman earlier?"

While I was rather surprised by that question, I was rather glad that I wasn't the only one that was asked with that. "Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Just checking to see if the doctor interviewed everyone regarding that," he replied.

"So what did you tell him?" I asked out of curiosity. While I've been with Ren for months now, I didn't really know much about him aside from his fighting style, his companionship with Nora and the fact that they were both orphans who just go wherever fate takes them. We rarely go on lengthy conversations so I was interested in what he has to say."

"Nothing much. I just told him that aside from because I was good at it, I also don't want people to suffer the same fate as mine."

I raised my brow at his answer as more questions began popping up my head. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's a long story—even if it was shorter, I don't feel comfortable enough to tell you," he said. I saw Nora frown after she heard our conversation. Seeing their expressions and knowing how it feels to have something in the past haunting you, I decided to respect his decision to digress.

"It's alright Ren, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I assured him.

He gave a friendly smirk. "I'll be sure to tell you someday. Right now, I just want to rest. It's been a long day of exterminating the area of Grimm that I could use a good long sleep." he said as he went to lie down on his sleeping bag.

"Yeah, you do that." I nodded.

"There's still a few more marshmallows left," Nora said, showing me the remaining marshmallow on the pack. "Want some?"

"Thanks." I gave her a smile as I took two marshmallows and impaled them with my stick. Nora took the last three of them before we hovered them near the campfire.

She went and sat at my side. It was mostly silent, with the only sounds being the chirps of a few crickets, the campfire crackling and even a Beowolf howling at a distance. It wasn't until I decided to speak up that I find myself in a conversation again.

"So, the doc asked you too, didn't he?" I asked, with my eyes gazed at her.

She silently nodded without a word, which was a little strange given her talkative nature. I made a hum and went back to watching my marshmallows heat up.

"You know, before I went to Beacon, I never had any friends apart from Ren." she suddenly spoke, getting my attention as I turned to her again.

"Why is that?" I inquired, surprised upon learning that. Girls like her normally tend to be more outgoing, so I find it weird for a bundle of joy and energy to be lonely if it wasn't for someone who she has been sticking with for half of her life.

"I wasn't always like this. Y'know the happy-go-lucky gal who likes smashing Grimm," she said as I leaned in and listened closely to her while she cleared her throat. "Before I met Ren, I was just a lonely little girl with no friends, no family, and no home. I just wandered from place to place looking for someone to take care of me. That's until I met Ren. I found out that he was also alone and that we only have each other." she spoke in a tone that was much calmer than her usual self. "So we became best buds for life and went from place to place, looking for whatever adventure we could find. We eventually found ourselves hunting for Grimm and I started enjoying it. I was loving the feeling of excitement and the satisfaction of slaughtering Grimm that I started savoring all the fun I have and told myself to stop worrying and be happy."

So this is where her zany personality came from? That's a little dark, but otherwise, it was heartwarming to see that she was brightening up, no longer alone and found her identity as a Huntress.

"Adventuring and killing Grimm became our life. So we went to every academy where we could get ourselves into so we could become full-fledged Huntsmen. **[1]** Ren was my only family until I became part of this team. For my whole life, I never knew what it felt like having a family until now." she turned to me and gave me a heartfelt smile.

I rested my eyes at her and was touched at what she told me and it made me more regretful of secretly treating her as a meatshield while still not letting go of my intention to keep using her as one. But even though I'm using her as a bodyguard of these school years, she was still a good friend that I'm grateful to have. "Well, I'm happy to know that we have you here with us." I soothed. "We'll stick together until this is all over."

"I hope it never ends then."

I could only keep resting my eyes on her and just smile, feeling ambivalent about the thought of staying with this team even after the end of the school years. I stayed like this until shortly after, my marshmallow suddenly started burning after neglecting it for too long. I flinched before hastily blowing away the flames until it was extinguished. My marshmallow was now burnt black that it was barely edible anymore, much to my disappointment.

"Here. You could have mine." she handed me her stick that impaled her three roasted marshmallows. "I'm full anyway."

"Thanks," I said, taking her stick and munching the soft, warm marshmallows.

"I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, Fearless Leader. This day has been fun, and I hope tomorrow would be more exciting!" she chirped as she went to her bedroll and laid down on it.

"Goodnight, Nora," I said while hoping that the following day is more exciting won't be the case, at least not for me; I don't mind Nora having fun as long as it doesn't put me in grave danger.

I remained seated near the campfire for a few more minutes before going to bed as well while asking myself one thing that has been bothering me for a while again.

What am I really going to do with these people once this is all over? Who really knows? I'll just have to live with it and see.

 **=o=**

1\. _There were some minor Huntsman academies that do not require formal education and accepted orphans. Hence, why Ren and Nora were able to attend such academies despite lacking any guardians nor having not attended any schools prior._

* * *

I couldn't sleep that night. Either because I was thinking too hard about the future, or because I was not comfortable sleeping somewhere in the ruins even though the place was wiped clean of any Grimm and Pyrrha was watching over us, or it was simply because of Nora's loud snoring.

Regardless, I decided to get up and check on Pyrrha and see how she is holding up. I thought that it could kill off the insomnia that was bothering me then.

I went to her post and saw that she was watching over the streets, holding Miló while it was on its rifle form. "You okay there, Pyrrha?" I asked as I carefully approached her.

"Oh, Jaune." she turned her head to me. She looked fine for someone who assigned to look-out for one-fourth of the night. "I'm doing fine. What do you need?"

"I couldn't sleep. I thought you could use some company."

"Fine by me." she said. I went next to her side and sat as she continues to guard our camp.

We both sat there, just watching the ruins for any potential Grimm that comes near. I did my best not to feel perturbed since it might attract Grimm into coming here; thanks to Pyrrha being at my side, I was a little more at peace. The sky was starless and cloudy but despite that, the ruins look slightly better at night. It's probably because the night sky offered more color than the dull, almost-gray color the sky on this place had during the day.

"Hey, Jaune. About last night..." Pyrrha suddenly spoke.

"Heh. I was waiting for you to bring that up." I chuckled. I was so busy doing the mission for the entire day that I almost forgot to ask her about that. "That night won't be something that you're going to forget, would it?"

"I definitely won't." she said. "It was just as fun as the food fight we had last Monday. It was one of the only gatherings that I enjoy so much that I didn't want it to end."

"It was a pleasure to make your night, and I intend to do it again if you don't mind," I smirked.

"I would love to have more nights like that." she happily said before turning back to watch the area. "This week is off to a good start, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" I muttered before being reminded about Doctor Oobleck's inquiry about our decision to become Huntsman. "So, Doctor Oobleck asked you about why you chose to become a Huntress, did he? What did you tell him?"

Pyrrha briefly frowned before answering. "Well. I told him that I chose to become one because I wanted to make good use of the training that I had since childhood than just use it to uphold my family's tradition of being a warrior." she then looked down and sighed as her tone becomes noticeably downtrodden. "But the truth is a lot more complicated than that. I wanted to see if becoming a Huntress would make me more than just a mere warrior, so I trained hard while doing my best to honor my family. As you could see, I was good at it that I won Mistral's Regional Tournaments four times in a row. But I never wanted to be this good, I just wanted to make my family proud. Now that my friends have abandoned me, I was afraid of disappointing my family that I could not afford to lose a single competition. I have become so fixated with winning that I almost forgot that I was finding why I chose this way of life." she bobbed her head upwards and her face brightened as she turned back to me. "But thanks to you, Ren and Nora, I think I now have my answer."

I continued to look back at her silently and kept listening. "I have forgotten what it felt like to have friends until I became part of Team JNPR. As I follow you and do my part as a teammate, I have grown to care about my newfound friends. That is when I began to realize the meaning of why I became a Huntress. To fight, not just for honor and for glory, but for those you care about."

She finally finished explaining her motivation when something hit her. "Oh, gods." she blushed and put a palm on her face out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry for making you hear me ramble again. I think I have gotten too ahead of myself."

"Don't be," I reassured her as I gave a chuckle. "It's nice to learn on what you are fighting for and knowing that there was more to you than just winning." I puffed for a moment. "We're not that much different when it comes to upholding my family's honor. I'm still doing my best to live up to my ancestor's legacy and all that."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. From what I've seen from you, I could say that they'll be proud of you." Pyrrha replied as she tried to comfort me back.

Sure, it does look that way, but little do anyone know that I wasn't keen on becoming like them nor do I believe myself to be that much of a great hero, especially when my so-called 'heroic acts' was only done to keep my dignity intact and to keep me out of harm's way.

"I can't really say that for myself, but I appreciate it," I said as I look back at her. "You know, you're not the only one who consider themselves to be lonely in this team. I just learned that Ren and Nora had no one but each other until they went to Beacon and as for me…" I hesitated for a moment, but I still managed to get her to say it without exactly ringing out something that I have been dodging for all these years. "I didn't have a lot of friends outside of my sisters. Most people I called friends back at home felt more like acquaintances at best."

"I'm glad we have each other then." she said as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're right on that one," I said, showing her a smile.

We returned to gazing over the ruins, satisfied with being comforted with one another. There was no denying that Mountain Glenn was a desolate wasteland, but as long as we were together, there was nothing to be scared of.

"So, Jaune… Do you have anyone particularly special in your life?" she suddenly asked. That question caught me off-guard. I did my best to not look surprised when she suddenly asked me that.

"No, not yet," I answered, taking a deep breath. "I did date a lot of different girls before but I haven't gotten anywhere with them. Soon after, I just decided to stop dating for a bit since I decided that it wasn't worth it."

"Oh. That must have been hard for you." she looked at me with pity.

"Don't worry about that; it's in the past. Besides, I was better off not staying with some of them." I reassured her. "I may have stopped but I haven't given up yet."

"That's nice to hear." she said before taking a brief pause. "So… you don't mind if we spend more time together. Just the two of us? As partners?"

I took a few more seconds to ponder what she just asked. "I'll be glad to, Pyrrha." I smiled at her as she looks back with a satisfied look.

However, the peaceful atmosphere between partners was short lived when we started hearing footsteps around the area that I started to wince at the sudden sound.

"Did you hear that?" Pyrrha asked as she stood up tensely and gripped her weapon.

"Where's it coming from?" It couldn't have been Ren or Nora, they were both asleep and it couldn't have been Doctor Oobleck either because I assume he was asleep as well, and even if he was, it couldn't have him because his footsteps sounded more distinct, these footsteps, on the other hand, sounded it was coming from two people.

She looked around before spotting something, making her hunker down and dragging me down with her.

"What's going on?!" I almost shouted at her abrupt action.

"Shh." she hastily shushed before going to my ear to whisper. "You might want to see this."

She let go of me and I went up to peek from cover to see what she spotted. I then saw a sight that almost startled me—two armed White Fang troopers on the road.

"You hear something?" one of them asked.

"I thought it was you, must be a Beowolf then," replied the other.

The first member puffed. "Let's just get back to base, I don't like patrolling this shithole in the night one bit."

"Yeah, you tell me."

Oh great, not those racist assholes again. I was almost close to avoiding these terrorist dipshits for a full week. What the hell are they even doing at an awful place like this?

Unless… Oh crap. Don't tell me they managed to track me down here—or worse—have a base set up on this mountain, I thought to myself.

"We should follow them." Pyrrha proposed, much to my shock.

"What?!" I shouted quietly. Why would I even put myself in even more trouble with the White Fang?

"They may be up to something and we may never be able to stop if we wait." she explained. "We beat them before twice, we could do it again."

I wanted to tell her that we should leave them alone because they were unprovoked and they haven't spotted us yet but I didn't want to look like a coward in front of Pyrrha so I went to the insane notion of agreeing with her. "Alright. We'll have to follow them ourselves. Let's leave Ren and Nora for now, we can't be stealthy if all of us are trying to sneak."

"Good call." Pyrrha concurred before we left our safe haven and follow these two terrorists so that we may find their hideout.

I already have my weapons ready so we decided to quietly and inconspicuously trail the two members across the street. It wasn't easy because there wasn't a lot of hiding spots aside from buildings, but we still managed to do so. Thanks to some miracle, our armors did not make any noise when we were sneaking behind them.

We stopped after we saw them enter an old sewer entrance, indicating that was where they were hiding at.

"Alright, that must be the entrance to their hideout," I concluded before turning back to Pyrrha. "We must go back and tell the others so we could take care of this tomorrow or maybe even later."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement as we turned back and headed back to camp. We were better off fighting those guys in numbers, they never had a chance then.

On our way back, I heard cracking noise as I looked down and saw that there was a crack on the asphalt below me. before I was able to throw myself out of there, the road collapsed open and I fell down towards its pit.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out. I saw outlines around my armor before quickly disappearing within less of a second, indicating that she tried to pull me back out, but it was too late since I was out of her range.

I screamed for a few seconds before landing on my back. The fall hurt a bit, but thanks to my aura, the impact wasn't that bad. When I looked around, I immediately knew that I was somewhere underground, but strangely, this place also has the same desolated-looking buildings as the surface had. It looked like I ended up at an abandoned underground city, which seems to be the case. **[1]**

I looked upward at the hole which was deep and dark enough that I couldn't see the surface. "Pyrrha!" I called out for her as loud as I could, hoping that she would at least heard my echo.

Shortly, I could hear echoes of her voice coming from up there. Before I was able to make a reply to that, two White Fang troopers suddenly barged in from a door and pointed their gun at me.

"Freeze!"

Oh, fuck me with a stick.

I turned back at them, almost shrieking at them barging in, but when they saw my face and realized who I was, they were immediately petrified.

"Wait a minute." One of them dropped their jaw. "Oh sh—"

Without delay, I panickly pulled out my pistol and blasted them both down. I panted heavily out of agitation that I was facing the White Fang yet again. Another squad of White Fang soldiers came from the door with their guns drawn. Since I had nowhere to go, I leaped from the cliff behind me before I was able to be hit by one of their gunshots.

Once I hit the ground, I started running around the abandoned underground berg, going from cover to cover to avoid enemy gunfire as I desperately look for an exit while I heard an alarm blaring. I took out my scroll and tried to contact my teammates, but I wasn't able to due to the abysmal signal I was getting on that hellhole. So I was on my own until I somehow reunite with my team.

Sigh, I knew that this was a bad idea.

I kept running around while I cover myself with a shield as the White Fang tried to chase me down. I followed a trail of train tracks that led me into a tunnel. After going past the tunnel, I saw a few trains stationed on the rails. Little did I know, the tunnel actually led me to MORE White Fang members. Even worse, when I saw that they even had one of those fucking robots that Team RWBY faced off last week, which dropped a container when it spotted me. The terrorists all turned towards me and began to shoot. I raised my shield to deflect their gunfire before trying to run back, only to have the other White Fang members coming through there.

I went to the nearest cover and started blasting off the White Fang members trying to kill me while thinking of a way to get out of this mess because I cannot take on all of them, especially when they have an Atlesian Paladin on their side.

The gunfire stops as someone began marching in. "Alright, who has been causing this ruckus?!" I leaned out from cover and saw that the voice belonged to Roman Torchwick, still puffing a cigar even at this moment. "You! You nosy little brat. You just couldn't leave us alone, could you?" he growled when he saw me and threw away his smoke. "At least, you don't have Red with you, that twerp was getting on my nerves."

I took this opportunity to look around to find something that I could use to my advantage. There, I saw a bomb on the open, with a few White Fang members around it. I took a deep breath as I changed the clip of my laser pistol.

"Hopefully, you won't be as bad as her. I don't care if they are calling you the 'Valish Defanger'! Why don't you do me a favor and make my job easier by holding still and just cease and desist already!" Torchwick snarled before turning back to his faunus goons. "What are you idiots waiting for? Kill him! You want him dead, right?"

The troopers pointed their guns at me again while that one Atlesian Paladin began marching forward. My eyes only focused on that one bomb they made a mistake of placing there.

"Oh, go to hell," I muttered, aiming at the bomb before squeezing the trigger, firing a straight blast of laser fire to it. The bomb instantly detonated, sending nearby White Fang members flying, if they didn't blow to smithereens.

Welp, it's time to become the White Fang's Angel of Death again. If there was something we both could agree on, is that this wasn't a good thing.

Some of the remaining members became more furious while others started trembling before me. Regardless, I was determined to get out of this mess. So I got out of cover, charging with my shield as they try to shoot at me. I bashed at first member before slicing the two other troopers he was with before taking him down as well with a vertical slash.

I collapsed my shield and grabbed my gun and began firing at hostiles at a distance while I clash with nearby White Fang members. One such member tried charging me with an axe before I deflected it with my sword and fired his chest with my laser pistol then kicking him down to the ground.

After getting rid with most of the troopers in the area, left and right. Torchwick began firing missiles at me. I hastily dodged all of them until he started to command the Atlesian Paladin. "Get him!" he pointed at me.

The Paladin started arming its missiles and fired them at me as I quickly hunkered down and expanded my shield, managing to deflect the projectiles, but the impact of the explosion lead me flying before falling on the ground on my back. I faced the mech again and saw that it was readying its next weapon while I began rolling before standing back up. I knew that I had to run away because the way it's designed made little way for me to get rid of it without something to exploit.

"Enemies everywhere!" A White Fang member suddenly shouted. I looked at my back and saw terrorists began running away as my teammates and Doctor Oobleck finally arrive when they mow down White Fang goons on their way toward me.

"The cavalry is here, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted as she was rushing toward me in the distance.

"Oh, for crying out loud! More punk kids?!" Torchwick made an infuriated yell before turning back to the Paladin. "Get rid of these pests right now!"

I saw the Atlesian Paladin adjusts and ready its missiles toward them. "Nora! Brr!" I bellowed as I began mimicking the sound of a bull. She fired her launcher at the Paladin, temporarily staggering it. She then grenade-jumped toward the Paladin as she changed to her hammer and smashed it down as neat as you please. She broke through the mech's torso until she founds it pilot before violently throwing him away.

"Oh, that's it!" Torchwick began to run toward the train. I tried to shoot him down, but I was only able to hit his hat and make it fly off its head. He was obviously irritated but didn't have time to retrieve it so he went straight toward the train. While I didn't know what was important about the train, my conscience intuitively told that it has to be stopped at any cost or else my life isn't getting any easier. Sadly, this means I don't have time to loot again. I would have gone straight to the exit on this whole, but I figured that letting Torchwick go free won't exactly put me in a better position.

I can't believe I'm doing this, I thought.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out as she and the others finally got next to me. "Thank goodness you're alright. What's going on here?"

"I'll explain later, right now we need to stop that train!" I told as I started leading them toward the train.

"What's on the train?" Ren asked candidly as he reloads both of his SMGs while following me.

"I don't know—all I know it's nothing good!"

"Look!" Nora pointed to the open cargo on the other track, revealing items that they weren't able to load to the train on time. They consisted of a few weapon caches and some stolen Atlesian machines but most disturbing above all—a bomb.

"But these tunnels are sealed and the tracks lead to a dead end! If they're transporting bombs… then it must be…" Doctor Oobleck mused before getting to a seemingly terrifying conclusion. "Oh no…"

"Get to your places, we are leaving now!" Torchwick's voiced announced via a speaker.

"Oh, dear mother of mercy…" Doctor Oobleck muttered before shouting suddenly. "Stop that train immediately!"

Without another word, we all dashed to the train at a much quicker pace as the train began to depart. Fortunately, we all managed to make it to the last car. Now, all we need to do is figure out how would we exactly prevent this train from reaching wherever it's heading.

 **=o=**

1\. _Mountain Glenn once had a subway system where it would be able to safely transport citizens to the main kingdom. The underground project became so ambitious that it became its own district. When Grimm attacks increased, the civilians tried to use the lower city as an evacuation site. Unfortunately, the Grimm managed to breach the walls and the Kingdom had to desperately seal off the tunnels_.

* * *

We went inside the first boxcar and saw a lone guard in it. Doctor Oobleck used his adjustable mace-slash-flaregun thingy, which also happens to be his thermos, to knock him out. Strange choice of a weapon, if you ask me. But it could have been worse, at least it doesn't have anything ridiculous like something sharp on the top, just imagine that.

"It really is those bandits again!" Nora said as she examined the member's uniform, she probably didn't link them to the terrorists I fought last Tuesday which was all over the news.

"I don't think they're bandits, Nora!" Ren replied.

"Mr. Ren is correct. Judging by their uniform and emblem, they appear to be members of a White Fang. An organization that I already mentioned in some of my previous lectures that it is unnecessary to elaborate them further." Doctor Oobleck informed. At least he described them quick enough that we only lost a trivial amount of time.

"What do you think is going to happen if we don't stop this train, Doctor?" I asked.

"It would crash right somewhere in the middle of the city! So we need to make sure this train doesn't reach its destination while figuring out a way how to defuse the bombs." he answered.

I gulped, realizing that now I'm in a middle what is essentially a bomb crisis. "But where do you think the bombs are placed? I don't see any of them here, and judging from what I've seen of them, they're not small."

"The hatches above the car!" Nora reckoned. "They're probably hiding it in there."

"You're a genius, Nora!" Doctor Oobleck commended. "Alright, children, everybody at the top of the car."

We all quickly climbed above the train's car and opened the hatch and found a bomb there, confirming Nora's guess. I admit, while Nora was infamous for her being inhumanely insane, she does have some decent ideas and surprisingly possesses a good amount of knowledge on technology if she's not talking about weird crap she was taught from a machine cult at least.

"Well, there it is. How do we defuse it?" I hastily asked.

"We could pray to the machine spirit to convert it to our side." Ren proposed, making all of us—but Nora—stare at him in confusion. He stared back at us and went with an alternative. "Or you could cut the wire."

I examined the bomb closely and saw that it has three wires—two blue and one red. "Which wire?"

"I-It's usually the red wire." he answered unsurely. "And even then, it's not guaranteed to stop the bomb unless the other wires are cut in a particular order."

Well, shit.

"Hostiles up ahead!" Pyrrha pointed at our front, showing a wave of White Fang soldiers climbing above train and is approaching us.

"Well, I didn't expect them to go easy on us!" Doctor Oobleck remarked.

To make things worse, the bomb's screen began flashing red, indicating it's about to detonate. I decided that defusing this bomb was not worth it. "Forget it! Let's get out of here! Everyone to the next car! Ren, disconnect this car before the bomb blows up."

"Good call, Jaune!" Doctor Oobleck remarked as Ren nodded.

We all leaped to the next car. Ren went to down to the connectors to detach them. While they were detached, Ren apparently wasn't responsible for it. "It decoupled itself!" he said.

"What?" Doctor Oobleck exclaimed out of bewilderment.

"That takes care of that?" I ambivalently as I watched detached car distance itself before exploding.

"There's more of them!" Nora yelled as the Doctor and I quickly looked back and saw another bomb on the hatch.

"No, no, no!" the doctor said as he quickly went to the next car to find another bomb on its hatch. "They all have bombs!"

This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? By then, I wished that I was back to securing a Grimm-infested wasteland, even if it would take a whole day.

The car we were at also suddenly started detaching with the bomb on it about to detonate as well. With that, we quickly leaped to the next car.

"What do we do now?" Pyrrha asked as we turned back to Doctor Oobleck.

"We'll worry about the bombs later! Right now, we have hostiles on our twelve!" Doctor Oobleck said as the White Fang soldiers coming to approach us as from a few cars away.

I turned to the mob of White Fang soldiers I was about to face. Doing my best to restrain both my anxiety and motion sickness, I took up a confident face. "Alright team, you heard what he says. We just need to get rid of any White Fang troopers standing on our way. Remember, we're not fighting the Grimm, so don't give away your attacks." I said as I rallied them forward.

My teammates nodded and leaped toward the proceeding cars above the train. It felt a little nauseous moving around while the train was speeding, but it did not bother me that much since my motion sickness wasn't much of a concern because I had worse things to worry about. We shortly got near a mob of White Fang soldiers. "Get the humans!" One of them cried. We went to a formation with all of our weapons ready. Pyrrha still stayed at the front, she switched Milo to its spear mode and attached a wind dust crystal to create a powerful wave from a single horizontal slash that sent the terrorists on the front flying then falling off the train. Nora leaped in and smashed the top of the car, stunning the nearby hostiles as Ren charged and slashed all of them down. Pyrrha and I went to the next car to deal with another batch of White Fang members. Pyrrha charged in and dealt with the group while I stay back and provide covering fire while striking down anyone who has gotten next to me, kicking down even one of the terrorists off the train.

Once it was clear, I checked the hatch to see if there were still bombs just in case. Turns out there wasn't any, same goes for the previous car where the other three was at since Ren checked it himself. Well, at least we don't have to worry about those things blowing up anytime soon. **[1]**

Speaking of which, we looked back and saw the last bomb-attached car explode. The explosion made a hole on the walls of the tunnel, giving Grimm an entrance.

"He's leading Grimm to the city!" Doctor Oobleck cried out.

"What?!" I exclaimed as I went to look at the tracks and found a horde of Grimm coming in a distance.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" he reckoned.

"But why would they do that?!" I asked, puzzled at the White Fang's decision.

"I don't know but I do know this: Since this train leads to somewhere below Vale, it would crash into the barrier between this tunnel and Vale itself, giving Grimm an entrance to the city; if that happens history could potentially repeat itself! Only worse!" he explained as quickly as he could.

Everyone gasped except me. "What?" I asked, confused at what specific part of history he was referring to.

"Oh right, you weren't there." Doctor Oobleck said.

"W-W-Wait! You're telling me if we don't stop this train, it'll give the Grimm a breach toward Vale?" I said, straightening things out.

"Precisely!" he replied. "You know how horrible that would be so there is no time to discuss this further! With the train carrying fewer cars, it now has less weight and more velocity, which means it has less time to reach the end of the tunnels! So we must hurry to the locomotive and stop this train at all cost!"

We hastily complied with the doctor's word, leaping from car to car on the effort to prevent a major terrorist attack from happening while I muse on how crazy the White Fang is for trying to go through this and mumbling on what I have gotten myself into.

Seriously, how is this going to promote equality somehow? What kind of psychedelic drug did they take that made them do this? They really are batshit insane.

As we were getting closer to the locomotive, a stolen Atlesian Paladin leaped up at our front, putting all five of us to a halt. I find it pretty odd that they stored Paladins on this train when they intend to use it break inside Vale. It felt like a waste of good robots. **[2]**

"Stand aside, children!" Doctor Oobleck stepped in and chugged his thermos before transforming back to a weapon and fired a single flare which was enough to knock the Paladin off the train before crashing to the ground then blowing up.

While these mechs were normally formidable, it wasn't a good idea to pilot something two-legged and heavy above a speeding train, which was why I was barely threatened with the following Paladin. A single sweep on its legs with Nora's hammer was enough to deal with it.

We continued to go off ahead when suddenly a White Fang member appeared out of a hatch. He was no ordinary member by the looks of it. He was large, muscular and he carried a chainblade; he wouldn't be out of place on a slasher film of sorts.

"I will destroy you." he said in a deep, menacing voice after making a sinister laugh. He swung around his chainsword as its saws revved.

However as scary this guy was, I didn't have time for showoffs. So I nodded to Pyrrha, prompting her to use her polarity to pull his weapon while he was still holding it. He was struggling to control his own chainsword, and his refusal to let go of it caused him to be pushed into falling off the train and become Grimm food or something. Good riddance.

"There's more of them coming from behind!" Nora pointed at our backs and saw more Paladins and White Fang members coming out, late for the party."

"Nora, come with me! We're going to hold them off." Doctor Oobleck ordered. "The rest of you, keep moving! If my calculations are accurate, the train is halfway its destination—so best for you to make haste!"

"You sure you'll be okay doctor?" Pyrrha asked.

"You can trust me on this one, Miss Nikos, this isn't my first rodeo. I'll be teaching these deviants a lesson." he nodded.

"Be careful out there, Nora." Ren regarded, displaying off his more emphatic side which rarely happens.

"You too, Ren!" Nora cheerfully said as she follows the doctor to charging.

"We better get moving," I told them. Pyrrha and Ren both nodded as they accompany me to the flatbed car containing a few Atlesian Paladins. I would have loved to take one of those bad boys home with me, but sadly I had to stay focused, especially that we were racing against the clock. Innocent lives were at stake and failing to stop this breach won't be good for my rep.

We went inside the train. There were few more cars remaining before we could reach the engine. We had our weapons ready as there won't be a single doubt that we would be facing Torchwick.

Speak of the devil.

After getting in one of the third last cars, the first thing we saw was a hatless Torchwick standing in the middle waiting for us.

Yeah, I'm not really used to seeing this guy without his hat. Looking at him without it always gives you an impression that there's something missing, especially with clothes like that.

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there, kiddos." he said. "These area is strictly off-limits to children. So why don't you all buzz off?"

I responded by firing a blast at him, which he dodged by making a hasty sidestep. That sucks because I wanted him shot and have this over with so we could focus on stopping a literal train-wreck from happening.

"I knew you were going to do that." he uttered before his tone becomes more infuriated. "You still owe me a hat, y'know? Do you even know how much that costs?! Bring it on!"

He pointed his cane at me and fired at a missile which was blocked by Pyrrha's shield when she went in front of me. Ren charged in and clashed both of his daggers with his cane. Pyrrha joined in and went to Torchwick's back and fought with his xiphos. Torchwick was noticeably having trouble dealing with two Huntsman back and forth, and it was a good opportunity to bypass him."

"You go on ahead, we'll handle him!" Pyrrha said as she parries all of Torchwick's attack.

I quickly ran to the door of the car. Torchwick noticeably tried to fire a missile at me before I closed the steel door, slightly feeling the missile detonate behind it.

I ran straight through the last cars before finally making my way to the locomotive as fast as I could, knowing we don't have a lot of time. Looking to the front window, I could visibly see the dead end from a couple of miles away. I quickly looked around the controls for a brake before spotting the lever.

I was overjoyed after seeing it that I immediately went toward it. As I was about to pull it, someone from behind began to choke me with an umbrella and I was pulled away from the train controls. I tried struggling my way out while an umbrella was pulling my throat. I reached for my pistol and began firing at my back, making the assailant dance around until they were forced to let me go.

I gasped for air as I looked up to see my attacker. Horrifyingly, it was none other than The Neapolitan Butcher herself. She blocked the train controls and wagged one of her index fingers.

I almost shat at the mere sight of her. There were a lot of things I wasn't looking forward to seeing, but she takes the cake. I swear, I would rather charge at an army of Atlesian Paladins head on with only a plastic spoon than to look at her eye-to-eye or even be in the same room.

Torchwick probably knew that he wasn't going to win this and was trying to hold off us for as long as he could. He only let me go because he knew that his pint-sized sidekick was waiting and I was too caught with the stuff that has been happening that I forgot she existed.

There was no turning back from this. I had to get rid of her as quick as I could and pull that brake before it was too late.

I holstered my pistol, raised up my shield and charged at her. She dodged to her right and pulled me with her umbrella's crook handle so I could stay away from the controls as she shifted in front of it again. I threw quick slashes at her, all of which she managed to dodge and repel. She pulled her blade from the umbrella and tried to stab me with it but I was able to block it in time.

She started fencing me with her blade, even occasionally trying to hit me with her umbrella sheath. I looked at the window behind her and saw that the dead-end was less than a kilometer away, prompting me to swing my sword around, desperately trying to hit her or at least get her out of the way.

She continued to parry my attacks before she began rapidly stabbing, pushing me back every time she hits my shield. Suddenly the door behind me opened and I heard Pyrrha call my name. With that, I stepped to my side as the Butcher was pulled to the last car when Pyrrha magnetized her weapon.

Without wasting another second, I moved toward the brake and pulled it as hard as I could. The rails began to squeal as the speeding train decelerates while its momentum pushes it to get near the wall within a half a mile. I quickly looked back and saw the Neapolitan Butcher widened her eyes as she looked into the front window and suddenly disappear. Pyrrha and I watch the locomotive's window as it shows tunnel's end getting closer. I slowly walked back as the train increasingly slow down as it was reaching the wall within a few more yards. While the locomotive's very end touched the wall, the train fully stopped, with the barrier barely scathed.

I almost fainted as I caught my breath, panting heavily and wiping off my sweat, mumbling in disbelief that we actually made it. "W-We did it..."

Pyrrha later entered the locomotive and rushed to check on me, no longer was she engaging the Neapolitan Butcher as she suddenly just vanished. "Jaune! Are you okay?"

"Yeah… we made it…" I puffed, mustering words with my remaining strength. I felt nauseous after holding it off since I rode this train and because of all the adrenaline that pumped inside me. "I think I'm going to throw up."

I exited the locomotive and vomited near the rails. After being a student on Beacon for almost half a year, this may have been the wildest event I have experienced, putting every other adventure which I had the misfortune of being in to shame, and I was not happy about it. Still, it could have been much worse, which is why I was glad that it came to this instead.

Pyrrha and I headed back to the preceding cars while going around, searching for items, even breaking some crates in the process since I wasn't able to loot bodies on the rush. I found some ammunition and a few dust crystals, while they were underwhelming—they were good enough for me. At least I'm not leaving this mess empty handed.

Strangely and also amusingly, I also found a well-hidden stash of human porn on the caches; this is rich coming from a group that despises humans. **[3]** I suppose it's true that people tend to fetishize what they hate. I decided to take it when Pyrrha wasn't looking.

We reunited with Ren and saw Torchwick lying on the ground, cable-tied and handcuffed. I can already see that he ran out of aura. Good, at least he's not getting away this time. Pyrrha probably made sure of that.

Ren was leaning on the wall, panting. "Is it over?"

"Yep. There won't be any breaches at this hour." I asserted with a smirk.

"What a relief." he remarked after taking a deep breath, still panting off the excitement he had been having.

Torchwick just chuckled. "You only won the battle, kid, but not the war." he sneered before coughing. "You can't hold me like this forever! I've broken out of the joint before and I'll do it again!"

We decided to just ignore him, it's probably just ramblings of a defeated criminal after an operation he must have spent months of planning was botched.

Nora and Doctor Oobleck arrived a few minutes later. Both of them looked just as tired as us, which was saying a lot since these two are known for having energy that's off the charts.

"You guys did it!" Nora bounced to Ren and gave him a hug while still holding her hammer on its full form with only one her hands.

"We did it." I corrected Nora. Honestly, while I mostly said that because I thought it would make sense for me to say it, I doubt that I would have been able to reach the end of the train if it wasn't for everyone's help

"You sure right we did!" she chirped, letting go of Ren and pumped a fist.

"Outstanding work, children! Simply outstanding!" Doctor Oobleck congratulated. "I have accompanied students in my lengthy career for more times than I could count, but this is the easily the most remarkable one to date, which is especially more impressive when you consider that you are only freshmen on your first mission! So, I guess it is true that this generation of Huntsmen would be extraordinary." he looked over to Torchwick who stared at him back in disgust. "Not only that you were able to prevent a terrorist attack that would have resulted in a breach that would threaten the safety of the kingdom, but you managed to seize a major criminal that the authorities had been hunting for a long period of time.

"Good gods! Take a damn breath. Geez, Louise." Torchwick whined, shaking on the ground whilst still tied and cuffed. "This nerd here is your teacher? Holy crap, I can't imagine how you catch up with this guy. Now I remember why I dropped myself from school; teachers just don't know when to shut up."

Believe me, I know the feeling. But if there was someone who deserved to shut up, I'm pretty sure the answer is obvious and it's not the doctor himself.

"Fancy meeting you too, Roman Torchwick. Wanted for several accounts of armed robbery, racketeering, kidnapping, arms dealing, parole violation, possession of illegal items, hijacking, grand larceny, and more recently, aiding a known terrorist organization." Doctor Oobleck replied.

"Why, I'm flattered with the recognition. Too bad I can't sign you an autograph when I'm tied like this." he scoffed.

"That wouldn't be a problem. I'll be more delighted in seeing you in a maximum security cell."

I looked around inside the train car and picked his cane after I found it. "Hey, don't touch that," Torchwick yelled.

Oh? Alright then, I'll just give it to Nora. I tossed it to her and when she caught it, gave a nod as she already knows what to do with it. She gripped it with both of her hands and bends it firmly until it snapped into two pieces.

Torchwick's reaction was what you'd expect. With that, he had lost his smug demeanor. "Gods Damn You! This is some Grade-A bullshit! That was my sweet little baby!" he threw a temper tantrum on the floor. "Neo! Neo! Where is she?! What have you done to her?!"

Being reminded of his womanlet of a sidekick made me a little more cautious, knowing she's still likely alive and ambush us off-guard. But to my surprise, she thankfully didn't appear at all when I expected her to.

"Do you even know who you're up against?!" Torchwick continued to snarl. "I work with pretty dangerous people, White Knight. When you find out who they are, you'll be wishing you had stayed at home today. Mark my words!"

I faced away and took a few steps. The thing was, I already wished I stayed at home. And it's true that I have no idea who is even behind Torchwick, but I do at least know that he lost and I threw a wrench on his works and I couldn't be bothered to listen to him babble. While I was indeed terrified of whoever Torchwick is working for, these people could use a hint. As shameful it would be, I am the Hero of Podunk, after all; so maybe they should be reminded of that.

"Nora." I gripped my fists and turned to her, making her stand upright as she waited for her order. "Break. His. Legs."

For a second she paused, unsure if I was serious but then she made an affirmative smirk and readied her hammer. "With pleasure."

Torchwick froze in fear and prayed to himself that I'm bluffing. "You wouldn't!"

"No brakes on the pain train!" Nora said as she slowly walks to a tied and panicking Torchwick.

"I don't think I want to see this..." Pyrrha calmly, yet nervously remarked as she turns away for the impending violence.

"Trust me, you haven't seen the worst of her yet," Ren responded.

I looked away too; the thought was already terrifying enough that I'd rather not think about it on my sleep by witnessing it with my very own eyes. The sounds were no less haunting, with Torchwick screaming as his bones break while a large hammer thump. If this wasn't someone who committed numerous amounts of crimes and almost made Grimm leak to the city while giving liars and cheaters like me a bad name, it would have been a million times more uncomfortable.

"A rather ferocious move, but necessary to keep criminals like him in line, I'm afraid." Doctor Oobleck commented.

Nora was finished turning a crime lord to a cripple. With that, it was safe to turn around and look at him again. "That… was uncalled for! Arg!" he grunted, weakly shaking his upper body as his lower body remained numb.

"Like bombing the tunnels to summon Grimm trying to crash a train so they could get in the city?" I snidely retorted.

"Screw you, kid! My employers are going to kill you and they are dead serious about it."

"I looked forward to seeing them then. Your boss needed a message." I feigned confidence to give him an impression of the hard as balls hero I've been pretending to be since the beginning. I admit, it felt cathartic but I really hope his employers would just buzz off and realize that I'm not worth it. Really, they'll be doing both of us a favor.

"Yeah, tell 'em, Fearless Leader!" Nora cheered. "Whoever they are, we'll be ready for them!"

He groaned. "I knew working with those stupid fucking sheep wasn't worth the pay." I heard him mutter to himself."

"Alright, that's enough." Doctor Oobleck stepped in and took everyone's attention. "Now, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the Grimm are still on the tunnels, and given the amount of negative energy within this train coming from the defeated opposition, they will arrive shortly."

Oh, crap we almost forgot. While they were a couple of miles away with the bodies for them to play with, which gave us time, there was still a massive horde that would overwhelm us and which we wouldn't be able to handle because we used almost all of our energy and resources on the previous battle.

"The good news, however, is that there's an emergency exit nearby that would lead us to Vale's sewers. After getting through that, we'll be home in no time."

"The sewers? Eww." Nora repulsively said.

"It would be worth getting through that if it means getting back to Beacon," Ren stated.

"I agree, after everything we've been put through, I'd say the stench of the sewers is the least of our concerns." Pyrrha chimed in

No objections. It was easier to smell shit for a short moment than hold a line against the Grimm in a long tunnel. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go home before the Grimm catches us."

Everyone went to get off the train. Nora carried Torchwick while he's still tied. We could already see the emergency exit from a few feet while hearing growls of incoming Grimm from the tunnels.

"At this point, I just want the Grimm to just kill us all already!" Torchwick yelled. I had a feeling that he is just going to keep talking until we put him out of his misery. Not a chance, he's going back to jail with broken legs and we're going to get paid for it, one way or the other. Just need to make the trip back to civilization a little more bearable. I wasn't going to have him throwing a fit in my whole way out here. I prefer that he saves it for the cops.

"Somebody, please shut him up," I demanded.

Nora complied and tapped his head, knocking him unconscious. There, now slightly less negative energy to feed off the Grimm.

Once we made it to the exit, it was pretty much over. Traveling through the sewers felt like a walk in the park compared to what we had to go through.

That was one hell of a first mission. I knew that a mission labeling itself of having moderate Grimm activity sounded too safe and easy to be true.

I really need to sleep; I haven't slept all night.

 **=o=**

1\. _The White Fang was only able to make a few bombs since they weren't able to gather enough resources to make a sufficient amount, their previous failed robberies being one of the few factors. That is not even mentioning the bombs that were not able to be loaded due to Team JNPR's abrupt entrance._

2\. _They were supposed to be unloaded but due to Team JNPR's discovering one of their hideouts, Torchwick had to depart the train early._

3\. _Additionally, they are staunchly against interracial relationships, viewing them as much of an act of degeneracy the same way their human counterparts hate it._

* * *

"So let me get this straight: You subdued an entire White Fang subdivision, captured one of the kingdom's most wanted criminals and prevented a breach that would have costed hundreds of thousands of damages—all because they were blocking the exit?" the Great & Powerful Ozpin asked with his brow raised after I told him the whole thing. While he appears to believe it for the most part—he was having trouble being convinced that I was trying to escape and I thought that trying to stop the train was one way to do it, which it was, judging that I was able to make it back here.

"That pretty much sums all of that up," I answered.

It was seven hours after we arrived back to Vale. After going through the sewers, we left Torchwick to the nearest police patrol, and have him taken to the precinct while also reporting them the White Fang presence on the subway to Mountain Glenn. I'll expect the bounty reward soon. We took a Bullhead back to Beacon; all exhausted and stinking from the dirt we got during the fight and after making a trip through the sewers that everyone was staying at least ten feet away from us. Doctor Oobleck patted all of our backs and then we went back to our dorms. Each of us took a quick shower before plopping ourselves to bed for a well-deserved sleep.

After waking up at the start of the afternoon, we were all told to be summoned at Ozpin's office with Doctor Oobleck. He commended us for our work after hearing Doctor Oobleck's remarks of our performance. He then sends everyone off while telling me to stay so we could have another private chat about my recent exploit.

"If that's ever truly the case, then it's certainly astonishing to see what you'd do just so you could make your leave," Ozpin stated. "So far, you are the only person I have known that truly earned the right to brag about preventing an outbreak and having a wanted criminal apprehended on their first mission as a freshman—yet, you chose not to. Choosing to instead refer to your success as a result of sheer luck."

That and mostly because my teammates were there. Honestly, I shouldn't be getting most of the credit here, most of what I did was pull a brake. Granted, we were racing against the clock and it took some blood and sweat while we were on hell's railroad with the worst of the White Fang on board, but let's be honest, anyone could pull a brake. **[1]**

"Professor... Please be honest with me." I said as I took a deep breath and inquired the question has been long been bugging me since yesterday. "Did you manipulate the mission board so I could pick that one particular mission?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny the possibility, Mr. Arc," he responded as he remained firm and still.

I begged to differ, there was no smoke without fire and all of the smoke seems to be coming from him. "Sounds like a 'yes' to me."

"And assuming that's even true, what would happen if I did not set the mission up for you? Do you think that things would have gone better?" he asked as he calmly retorted.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, there's always Team RWBY." I pointed out. "I mean, we're not the only option you have."

"A welcome alternative if you ask me. However, I would have been skeptical considering that Team RWBY—while there's no denying that they are exceptionally skilled especially when they truly work together—they were too problematic to be trusted with something within this scale," he responded. "I prefer for them to take time and work on their internal affairs first."

"Is that why you picked me instead?" I narrowed my eyes slightly at him.

"You should look back and observe what you've managed to accomplish, Jaune. You just need to put some faith in yourself and you will understand," he said before he grabs to finish his mug. "Because regardless of what motivated you, a breach would have been a huge problem. It would hurt the kingdom economically with the potential damages, civilian casualties and lawsuits while it negatively impacts the upcoming festival as the civilians' safety is threatened."

"I guess you're right if you put it like that." I murmured. "But still, I did not appreciate going through all of that."

"Then be glad it resulted in this instead of your funeral. Like I mentioned previously, I would never send you on tasks I know you cannot accomplish and you were able to handle this efficiently." Ozpin asserted.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my own eyes. "Just let me celebrate for not dying in the suicide mission you sent me."

"As you wish, then. Just remember at what you managed to fulfill." he declared as he continues to stare at me stoically. "You now have my permission to leave. Thank you, Mr. Arc."

"You're welcome, Ozpin, the Great & Powerful," I said before turning away and leaving his office.

I took the elevator and descended back to the ground floor and exit the Beacon Tower and reunite with my team who was waiting for me on the courtyard. Team RWBY was also there and by the looks of it, they were surprised to hear about everything we went through this morning.

"Oh look, he's finally here!" Ruby pointed at me chirped. I noticed that she was wearing a backpack for some reason.

"Here he is, our knight and shining armor who made all of this possible!" Nora cheerfully gestured to me as I approached them"

"Is it true? Did you really got what Torchwick was coming to him?" Yang excitedly asked.

"Yeah. Let's just say you won't be hearing anything from him in a long while." I said.

"Serves that jerk right," Ruby remarked.

"Also, breaking his legs? I would do that myself but good to know that he'll be spending prison on a wheelchair." Yang said. Well, I guess there was no room for secrets now that they know about that.

"Yeah, we definitely showed them!" Nora chirped.

"Does anyone else know about this?" I asked hoping that they would say no but unfortunately…

"Uh, yeah. Word about it just spread recently." Ruby answered.

I just stared at her with a straight face while shouting a million cries internally that would have been so powerfully loud that I could make all the gods' ears bleed. This only guarantees that I would find myself in another scenario such as this. I don't know who started it, whether it was Doctor Oobleck, Ozpin or someone from my team, I'm definitely going to have less sleep these days.

"Hey, Jaune. You guys were at Quadrant 5, right?" Blake suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Have you, by any chance seen a bull faunus with a red sword?"

While what happened was a little blurry, I definitely haven't seen anyone with a red sword of sorts that is not Pyrrha's weapon. "No, I can't say I have."

"That figures," she said, slightly disappointed. "At least, Torchwick won't be causing trouble in a while. I doubt that this is the end for the White Fang though."

"Maybe not but this is a huge blow to them," I said to her. "Especially if you consider that this is what they've been trying to work on ever since they started robbing dust stores."

"From peacefully protesting to trying cause a breach," Blake muttered and asked rhetorically. "How low does the White Fang could get these days?"

"Regardless of how peaceful they were, they are now a shadow of their former selves." Pyrrha chimed in.

"It's for the best, Blake." Weiss put a hand on her shoulder before she hesitantly looks back at me. "Good work, Arc… that is all that I could say."

"Uhh, thanks," I said, not knowing what to make up of her rare compliments. I then realized something. "Wait, I've been thinking. I just realized that the mission we took doesn't actually have moderate Grimm activity, and you girls said that you've tried to take a Search & Destroy Mission but you couldn't because it wasn't available to students."

They all widened their eyes and glanced around in embarrassment before reluctantly admitting it. "Heh! Well, you got us." Ruby confessed. "We thought that we could use it to help Blake out to stop the White Fang but obviously we couldn't so we just with the other mission because it's on the same quadrant, we just have to wait it out."

"Well, good thing we were there to stop them ourselves then," I remarked.

"Yeah, it's pretty convenient," Yang commented. "Looks like we don't have to go snooping around the place for the hideout then."

"I'll have to disagree. We would still have to check to see if they were any remaining White Fang posts there. There might be some info that they weren't able to dispose of last morning." Blake said.

"Then it begs to ask, why were you able to get the mission when we couldn't? And why does it label itself to only saying that the Grimm activity there was moderate?" Weiss inquired to us with clear bewilderment and suspicion.

"Gee. I have no idea." I slightly glared back at the top of the tower.

Before we could discuss this further, a creature jumped out Ruby's backpack. It was a puppy—a corgi to be exact with black and white fur.

Sigh, dogs. I'd be happy to see one if it wasn't for my terrible history with them. I could still remember one biting me hard as a kid that I had to be sent to the hospital like it was yesterday.

"Zwei, I told you to stay in the bag!" Ruby told the dog. "You know we'll get in trouble if people here see you." Fortunately, the courtyard wasn't that populated. You'll get a few students passing through but that was it. It probably has something to do with most first-years being away for their mission. **[2]**

"This is your dog?" Pyrrha asked as she looked at the dog chase its own tail and bark.

"Aww~ he's adorable!" Nora squealed as she leans at it.

"I thought Beacon doesn't allow pets. How did it get past security?" Ren inquired.

"Oh, Dad snuck him in via mail." **[3]** Yang answered.

Well, that and I remember Bleu telling me that Beacon has rather mediocre security.

"At least it's not a cat," Ren remarked, making a certain faunus to narrow her eyes at him, causing him to quickly apologize and rephrase his statement. "Sorry. I mean, I'm not particularly fond of four-legged felines myself."

"Look, Zwei, these are our friends from Team JNPR," Ruby said as she turned it toward us. "There's Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and their leader, Jaune!"

Zwei pants while it happily looks at my team until it turned toward me. I nervously took a step back as it stares at me for a couple of seconds before it started snarling and pounced to my feet then it started to biting off my pants.

"Zwei! Get off him!" Ruby rushes in as she pulled it away from my pants. "Bad dog! Say sorry to Jaune," she demanded.

Zwei whimpers at her before turning back to me and growled again.

"That's weird, I haven't seen Zwei act like that to other people before," Yang remarked, noticing how Zwei seems to dislike me for whatever reason.

"I think that animals just don't like me," I responded. Seriously, just go ask Vert and she'll be recounting all of the times when her pets attacked me.

"Why would they? You're such a nice guy," asked a puzzled Ruby.

It's maybe because it could sense me being a fraudulent bastard, I thought. "Beats me."

Nora's stomach growled. "Hey, guys, I'm hungry. Let's get to Vale and get ourselves something to eat."

"Sounds good. We could use it to celebrate our recent success." Pyrrha replied.

"Let's come with you!" Ruby suggested as she puts Zwei back to her backpack. "We still haven't got our lunch."

"We should go for tacos, it's Taco Tuesday, after all." Yang proposed before glancing at Weiss. "Weiss-cream here will be paying."

"Don't get too used to it, Yang," she responded as she narrowed her eyes to her.

"Tacos would be nice." I chimed in as I looked around everyone. "Alright, let's not dilly-dally around here any longer. My stomach is killing me."

So we all went to Vale with Team RWBY. It was one hell of a first mission we had and I was still recovering from that. I really hope that the mission just went wilder than expected and the following missions should be less complicated. At least, I won't have to worry about Torchwick and his White Fang slaves for a while.

Unfortunately, I think I might have pissed off his employers if they aren't trembling because I'm a fuckup to their operations. If they are not going to avoid me, then it's sure that they are now looking to teach me a lesson.

Way to go, Jaune.

 **=o=**

1\. _While not exactly false, this is blatantly just another example of Jaune attempting to downplay his achievements to make himself look selfish and less-heroic. Remember that his leadership is what led to making his victory possible as I doubt that other people would be even able to reach the brake, considering what he had to face._

2\. _Although they began the operation early, the White Fang intended to start the breach during that week, when most of the Huntsmen were away doing their missions._

3\. _Speaking of which, Ruby did consider mailing all of us to Mountain Glenn when we realize that its mission was not available to first-years. I personally glad we didn't since we would have a lot of trouble breathing inside boxes._

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _Once again, I am going to add an excerpt from the White Fang as they detail the aftermath of their failed operation, to give you an impression of the impact Team JNPR left on the organization that day._

 _It should be noted that the author of the previous reports was killed in action during the train battle, it is unknown if his death was caused by the team or the Grimm. Regardless, this report was written by someone who stayed behind the Mountain Glenn base when the train left and managed to avoid being arrested when it was raided by the military. The differences are quite apparent judging how the writing is less eloquent than the previous reports._ _The differences are quite apparent judging how the writing is less eloquent when compared to the previous reports._

The White Fang Reports: Trouble at Mountain Glenn

Alright, where do I start?

Do you remember the operation what we been working on for months ever since Adam made a deal with some mysterious people?

Well, to put it lightly, it went to shit.

Sorry, if reading this sounded a little unprofessional to you, the guy who was supposed to write these things died that day. I'm in charge with these reports now and I'm much of a writer, so please bear with this for a moment; I'm still trying to get used to this.

Here is everything I could recall during that day.

The truth is that we actually had to make the train leave earlier than expected because The Valish Defanger came in and started fucking everything up that the train departed before we were done loading and unloading stuff. Hell, there were some bombs that we haven't been able to load inside it and we were still missing on bombs.

While we managed to blow up some holes on the tunnels for Grimm to enter, the train wasn't able to crash into Vale's barrier. No one was able to come back from the tunnels alive—even Vandyke Fawkes was confirmed dead. But somehow the Defanger and his followers managed to make it out with Torchwick captured.

The Grimm later ended up infesting our underground base at Mountain Glenn that we had to move out. VDF and Atlesian forces soon arrived and started shooting and arresting every White Fang member they see. I was one of the few that managed to escape to the woods and reach one of our outposts.

We later learned that Torchwick was now arrested by the Atlesians and was put on a death row for his crimes. I know that none of us liked that asshole anyway but everything we worked up for was all for nothing. Why are we even working with these stupid humies anyway, and what was the point of it? This was their idea, and we lost half of the division because of it.

Adam was just as furious as us but wants us to stay focused. Although this division is now crippled, we still haven't lost everything yet. There is still hope and we could build our way back, he told us to think of all the oppressed faunus we are fighting for.

Adam is someone all of us faunus look up to. I believed in him and I only hope that he is right that we will soon have our vengeance.

Update: We just found out that Torchwick's companion—The Neapolitan Butcher, or Neo, I think—has survived. I really don't know how she did it because none of our men came out of there alive and she wouldn't tell us because she won't say a thing. But we do know that she plans to break Torchwick out of prison somehow.

* * *

 **Well, whaddaya know. A seemingly cowardly, self-serving semblance-less Jaune managed to prevent the infamous Breach of the Volume 2 finale, something that even overpowered Jaunes with ridiculous semblances failed to do (even if he's backed up by both Team RWBY and _NPR.) But seriously though, the breach is preventable, you just need to not screw around and focus on stopping the train.**

 **While this story is done covering Volume 2, we're not going to Volume 3's events yet. The story needed to cover five chapters per arc and I've only finished the fourth chapter of this one. Meaning there is still something to be done before we go to the Vytal Festival.**

 **Until then, have a Happy Valentines/Singles-Awareness/White Trailer Day.**


	10. The Phantom Grimace

**Sorry the update took so long to release, there were a lot of speedbumps I have to cross on the way of getting this finished, not to mention, I had to deal with whales, hives and fanatics.**

 **Here it is, the final chapter of the pre-festival arc. Hopefully, a 33,000+ chapter based on Grimm Eclipse is worth the wait.**

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _The following entry was written three weeks after Team JNPR's first mission. Team JNPR and RWBY were both making preparations for the imminent Vytal Festival, when all o_ _f a sudden, both Team JNPR and RWBY was called by Headmaster Ozpin for a special assignment._

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **The Phantom Grimace**

* * *

 _"No one in their right mind wants to be oppressed, but everyone loves to think that they are."_

 ** _-Dennis Hartmann, Former Mantle Oligarch_**

Some people say that they stopped believing in the Gods after losing their fate when miserable things still happened to them despite praying hard enough that thought they'd be immune to Their antics, probably because of egocentric bullshit like 'Gods only exist if good things happen to me or if bad things happen to people I don't like,' or something like that as if They owe you everything. But if you ask me, I frankly believe that my misfortunes prove Their existence. Now, I'm no pious churchgoer even though I have been believing in omnipotent people watching somewhere from the depths of space since I was a child mostly thanks to my religious upbringing and all; I still think my stroke of bad luck only proves that there are Gods watching me and that They have a very sick sense of humor. It's the only logical explanation on why I have been involved in the craziest nonsense recently when I've been doing my best not to get myself killed. They're not letting me die because They knew won't be able to suck some entertainment out of me when one of their favorite playthings is six feet under. So yeah, I do believe the Gods exist—people just expected wrong things from Them.

I can't really blame Them, I kinda deserve all of this, well, except being treated and called as a hero, but then again They're aware that I didn't ask for this and still gave me my reputation anyway because They know it'll screw me over.

After the deranged, pants-shitting mess that was my first mission, the news began to report that Torchwick was incarcerated; an attempted breach was prevented from reaching the city, and an entire White Fang base was raided by the military. Then someone spat out some rumors that I was the one behind all of it. It wouldn't be so bad had not the Great & Powerful Ozpin decided to screw me over once again and confirm that my team and I was indeed responsible for all of those things, making my popularity go from ridiculous to ludicrous.

Word started spreading like a wildfire around the kingdom that it would have burnt down the entirety of Northern Sanus if it was an actual fire. I'm now being painted as a modern national hero, being the partner of the Invisible Girl of Mistral made it more or less worse that I wouldn't be surprised if they make us the couple of the year even though we haven't even officially dated yet.

Swarms of journalists and fangirls were all over me when showing myself to the public that I took a page from Pyrrha's book by wearing disguises and assume aliases every time I have to go to the city so I could prevent the godsdamn paparazzi from getting anything out of me. **[1]** I always hated those professional stalkers, journalists were always detective-wannabe pricks who make easy money by spouting their slanderous bullshit regardless of the context of what they're covering, but the paparazzi are an exceptional breed of journalist. Fucking degenerates, my private life is called 'private' for a reason—I mean, who the hell cares about the color of some famous person's underwear? A wise man once told me that there were no people on this planet that were more annoying than the media, and he couldn't have been more right about that

I'm serious, my fame is getting out of control. I lost count on how many autographs I have to sign and how many girls fainted because I simply touched their hands. I had no choice but to accept this. The only thing I could do was be humble about it and try accrediting Ren and Nora for their roles. Sadly, they'll be only known as the duo who just happened to be teammates with Mr. Podunk and Ms. Mistral.

The worst part was despite all this, I haven't got laid yet. Where's my father's seductive charm when you need it?

I found out that White Fang recruitment dropped after that incident, thanks to fleeting morale, military raids on their bases, and the fact that they were scared shitless of me. Hopefully, the remnants would be taken down quickly so I don't have to cross paths with them anymore, I've had enough of those race-baiting militia dickheads.

My family called me and they told me that I was all over the news recently. They were pretty much proud that I am making the next steps as I carry the Arc family torch that I was too scared to let go and extinguish. Noir and Blanche said that they were even working on a tribute song about me for their concert this festival. Not really something I asked for, but they assured me that they are not including my embarrassing childhood moments at the song, because as much as they like to joke about me as much as my other sisters, they wouldn't want that to ruin my dignity and image.

Anyway, I was having such a nice day, with my only concern was helping prepare for the Vytal Festival which was coming within less than a week. Culture clubs have opened for freshmen who are interested in certain hobbies and for additional festival activities. None of the clubs interested me so I obviously didn't join any of them. I have nothing to do but to train for the tournament while helping with the decorations once again. Indeed, even if we're done with community service, there were still some work for us to do. Some things just never change.

It wasn't much of a sweat, all we did was make props out of paper or cardboard, place decorations and arrange tables. I honestly wouldn't mind doing this until the preparations were complete, and I would have certainly chosen this over the mission if I had any idea that it was going to be another one that happened to be more trouble than it's worth.

It all started when Team JNPR and RWBY were taking our lunch breaks after a morning of training and organizing, **[2]** when suddenly, The Great & Powerful Ozpin announced in the P.A. that he wants all the eight of us in his office. We had no idea why he specifically called us so we finished our lunch and then headed to his office at the Beacon Tower.

"Ah, good. You're all finally here." Ozpin turned away from the office's window as he faced all of us coming from the entrance, Miss Goodwitch was beside his desk, still carrying her tablet per the norm.

"Is there something you need from us, Professor Ozpin?" Ruby asked as we approach near his desk before he moved to sit on it. Underneath that curious expression, I could also feel that she's very excited to get involved in another daring adventure that would ruin the perfectly adequate peace we were having.

He better had a good reason on why he is calling for both of our teams because otherwise, Ozpin was better off only sending Team RWBY or get someone else to help them.

"I do, Ruby, and I very seldom call students to my office for a special assignment. Consider yourselves to be the fortunate few who had the privilege of being in one."

He can word it whatever he like but there was no changing the fact that it was bad news for me. Not half a minute in and I was already shuddering with what Ozpin's been trying to allocate me with. I've been glancing at the office's door, thinking about bailing and launching myself out of the kingdom and to be never seen or heard from again.

Everyone looked at each other, befuddled in disbelief that Ozpin just abruptly sent us here for an unexpected task. Ruby meanwhile, squealed excitedly. "A special assignment?!"

"This is a bit sudden. Why choose us for this particular task, Professor?" Pyrrha questioned.

"I'm glad you asked, Miss Nikos," he replied. "Both of your teams have proven to be quite remarkable, not only among the freshmen but to the entirety of the school as well, surpassing even some of the most prodigious of your upperclassmen, that I noticed some of them being envious of you."

"It's what we do best, professor," Weiss proudly boasted.

"And we couldn't have done it without our fearless leader!" Nora chirped, making some of them look at me with satisfied expressions as Yang bumped my shoulder.

I grinned back at them in modest satisfaction when in actuality I was doing my best to hide my embarrassment and my grimacing face. Attention like this was what I was trying to avoid as my increasing fame was becoming more turbulent by the second.

I stepped in and asked a question so we could get this over with and so I could sway everyone's attention away from my reputation. "What do you have for us, professor?"

"Before I brief you with this special task. I would like to inform you that this is at utmost importance and I am trusting both of your teams with it." Ozpin stated bluntly. "If you managed to handle it well, you will be exempted from this semester's exams as you have already proven to be suited for another year at Beacon that a written examination won't be necessary from you."

"Oh yeah! Now we're talkin'!" Yang pumped. "This will be a piece of cake."

One of these days, Yang is going to be the first to get herself killed or at the very least seriously wounded, I could feel it. Thank Gods she has a semblance that makes her a nightmare every time she's hit (and also gives her the ability to utter real swear words too.) Meanwhile, I still have to wait for Nora to get electrified or find a way to cast electric dust on her without being caught so she could use hers, even if it's quite clear that she idolizes me, I still don't want to her piss her off and break my bones.

"Sounds like I don't have to tutor you three then," Weiss commented. "Whatever this is, I'm up for it."

"You can count on us, Professor!" Ruby chirped.

"Good to hear, Team RWBY." Ozpin nodded to them before turning at me. "What about you, Jaune? What do you and your team have to say about this?"

All eyes moved toward me as they waited for my answer. While finishing a seemingly simple mission so I could automatically pass this semester's exam and finish this year without much of a hassle sounds like a win-win—something tells me that I should go on the trouble of studying for the exams instead. But I can't afford to refuse the offer in front of my own team and Team RWBY, it would leave a bad impression. So I guess I'll have to accept this, I just hope whatever I'm about to go through is worth it to pass this semester. On the bright side, I don't have to cram for nonsensical dust sciences that make algebra and geometry look like a kindergarten class and I get to rub it on everyone's faces. I could always rely on my team to carry me out on unwanted situations.

"We're up for it," I said confidently as I stepped up. "Whatever we need to do, I'm sure we could handle it. We didn't get here for nothing." I glanced at my teammates and saw Pyrrha and Ren giving expressions of approval while Nora was squealing excitedly.

"That's the spirit," Ozpin beamed. "Now, do you acknowledge that the information I'm about to provide you is confidential and that whatever is said in this room, stays in this room?"

We all silently nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, I was increasingly getting nervous when he makes it clear that this won't be an ordinary walk in the park. Was it really a good idea to accept this so I don't have to study?

"Splendid." he said before turning to Miss Goodwitch. "Glynda, if you will."

Miss Goodwitch complied silently as she tapped a few prompts on her tablet that folded the tower's window blinds, making the office almost completely dark until a blue light source came from a holographic screen on a wall, which all of our attention turned to.

Ozpin got up from his chair and stood next to the hologram as it displays an area map of the Emerald Forest with some landmarks crossed. "A few days ago, the security network at the Emerald Forests had mysteriously shut down."

Considering that it failed to stop a Nevermore and a Deathstalker from entering, I doubt it would have made much of a difference.

"I sent Professor Port along a few senior teams to investigate what was causing the disturbance. While they were able to successfully repair the security control centers back to working condition, they also made an interesting discovery." the hologram then displayed a photo of crates with a symbol of a hexagon with three bond lines at its angles and a stylized 'M' inside of it. The clearer image of the logo was displayed in a separate image.

"This insignia was the logo of Merlot Industries; a once proud research company before it collapsed after the fall of Mountain Glenn." he continued.

"I heard of that company before." Weiss uttered, "I remember my father going on meetings with them."

"Aren't they the ones who conducted experiments that were so unethical they made your family's company look tame in comparison?" Blake snidely asked.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her. "Hey, I was young and naïve then! I didn't know much about them but I do recall my father being infuriated by them."

"Now settle down, we'll discuss the company's ethics at another time. But right now, this is important and I need you to stay focused," Ozpin intervened, calming down the monochrome duo. "Apparently, the devices that were used to disable the control centers and lured the Grimm bore this symbol, along with the crates, as you can see here. Now, it begs to ask, why are these objects carrying the logo of a now-defunct company? One would say that they were taken from their headquarters in Mountain Glenn. So I have requested General Ironwood to send some men there to investigate. Alas, this is what they found."

The holoscreen started playing a video footage of an Atlesian Soldier somewhere under Mountain Glenn. It was a little hard to watch as the camera was constantly shaking and that there were static everywhere. "This is Sergeant Wilhelm of Epsilon Squad. We're witnessing a type of Grimm that we've never seen before. We need backup as soon as—Oh Gods, help me!"

It was then followed by screaming with the camera turning to give us a very brief look at the creature that attacked them before it fell to the ground while it was tilted with small blood splattered on its lens. The redshirt's screaming continued as the Grimm growls. Once it stopped, the hind legs of the mysterious Grimm trudged through the camera as it lies there.

Ruby and Pyrrha covered their mouths at the footage while the others looked no less shocked. Miss Goodwitch halted the footage and rewinded it before pausing to the blurry frame of the Grimm that attacked them. It was blurry enough that we couldn't make up on what the Grimm was and what it exactly looked like. Its shape resembles that of an Alpha Beowolf, we would have left to that conclusion if we didn't notice something green glowing on its back, telling us that if this was an Alpha Beowolf, it was no ordinary one, which is very worrying you ask me since Alpha Grimm are already on terrifying on their own right, and the fact that it managed to wipe out a squad of technologically advanced trained soldiers made it more terrifying.

"What is that?!" Blake questioned with her eyes widened.

"I don't know…" Ruby leaned in and squinted her eyes. "It looks like an Alpha Beowolf—except there are green things on it."

"While it's very likely to be a Beowolf, we are not fully sure. All we know for certain is that the Grimm is apparently mutated as no normal Grimm bears green skeletons on its biology," Ozpin responded. "Two-thirds of the forces sent was later wiped out by an explosion from a bomb that was planted on the premises. Confirming that there was someone that is orchestrating all of this. We went to the conclusion that the person responsible for this was also behind the mutated Grimm and the security breach at Emerald Forest. Someone has been tampering with Merlot Industries resources and whoever this is must be stopped before they could cause further chaos."

Perfect, another kingdom-wide case, I muttered to myself. How the hell do I keep getting myself into these? "What do you think we'll have to do then?" I asked.

"Both of your teams will be deployed on Forever Falls. Grimm Activity has increased above the norm, and there have been sightings of anomalous Grimm on the area. We presume these to be the same mutated Grimm on Mountain Glenn. Your mission is to scout the area, eliminate any opposition and find anything that could be used to track down the perpetrator behind this."

"We won't let you down, sir." Ruby nodded followed by her teammates.

"You will be conducting this mission on your own. However, Doctor Oobleck will assist you via the school's communication network. He will watch over you as you carry out your task." Ozpin finished his mug of coffee and remotely unfolded the blinds, putting the light back at the office. "Good luck, students, and may the Gods watch over you," he said, turning off the screen and returning to his chair.

I'm sure They'll be watching, just don't expect Them to make things easier for us.

"A Bullhead will be waiting for you within ten minutes, use this time to prepare and arm yourselves. Stay safe and fight well. This is what you've trained for." Miss Goodwitch said as she went in front of the eight of us.

Without another word, we exited the tower and went to our respective dorms and lockers to gear up for the special assignment given to us.

"And I thought today will be relaxing." I heard Weiss murmur, sharing my thoughts exactly.

I guess I'll just have to do what I usually do then. Stay behind everyone, let them do most of the fighting, don't do anything stupid and I'll be fine. It's pretty much why I was even breathing today.

 **=o=**

1\. _A common tactic used by politicians and celebrities to avoid public recognition. Success usually varies depending on how well the user handles the disguise and how recognizable the person is._ _I can confirm that I also use this method myself when traveling alone without bodyguards._

2\. _During the week before the festival, all regular lessons were temporarily put to a halt so students may spend time preparing for the festival, whether it be training, organizing, maintaining their equipment or preparing activities with their respective clubs._

* * *

Ah, the Forever Falls woods, the magical place where I had been chased by rapier wasps and an Ursa Major, and also the place where I had to experience romance with the White Fang at first sight.

We were dropped off somewhere north of the forest after another nauseating flight that made one of the paper bags I bought come in handy. We split away from Team RWBY as we went around the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary while killing the Grimm along the way as Doctor Oobleck act as our handler. They were right when they said that there were more Grimm in the forest than usual, and there's something that has been causing the sudden increase, and it was our mission to find out why.

With my rural upbringing, I should have little trouble trekking through the grassy greenlands—eer—redlands of Forever Falls, but the increased number of Grimm attacks prevented this from becoming an ordinary stroll. However, it wasn't really that bad since most of the packs were Creeps, which are one of the weaker Grimm. They're still pretty infuriating to handle on large packs, Creeps are known for digging to the ground and making holes everywhere. I have to constantly check my foot to see if they might come out of near it, at least Beowolves and Scavers know how to stand still even for a few seconds and make my life easier.

We kept searching for anything anomalous on the forest, while Nora whistles the tune of 'The Valish Grenadiers', which slightly lightened the mood but wasn't enough to make the Grimm any less aggressive.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really hoped that something interesting happens, because killing the same Grimm over and over gets annoyingly tiring real fast.

I pulled my sword from the Creep I slew from the last the Grimm horde we dispatched when Ren found a pavement leading to somewhere, it was tempting enough not to follow. After noticing the pattern, it was unlikely that these things lead to nothing.

"Let's follow this path. Maybe it could take us to wherever our culprit is hiding." I said to my teammates who agreed without a question.

"You guys find something?" Ruby's voice asked on our scroll's channel.

"Just a path that could lead us to our target. You?" I replied.

"Nothing yet. We're still trying to look for the train tracks from Mountain Glenn, it might give us any leads."

"Well, whatever you're doing. I wish you luck."

"You too," she said before a big pause then suddenly singing. " _I've been working on the railroad. All the live long day~_ Wait, is this thing still on?"

I chuckled and put the scroll back in my pocket. It sounds like Nora isn't the only singing a tune during a mission.

We found ourselves going uphill as we follow the path, we started noticing ruined stone columns appearing as we pass through them, indicating us that this was more or less the right path.

"We're heading somewhere, that's for sure," Ren commented. It should be, otherwise, it would be silly if they just paved way for something that leads to nowhere.

Once we finally went to the top, we saw that it stop at the cliff, however, the road continued below the edge while there was a tall and large tree standing on a black square pedestal in the middle of it. We dropped ourselves down and decided to spend a quick break and take time to appreciate the large tree as we rest below the shade. A person with a dirty mind would say that whoever planted that tree is compensating for something.

"Wow..." Pyrrha stared at the tree, awestricken by its enormous size. "That tree is magnificent."

"It's so pretty!" Nora said before she took out her scroll. "Do we have time to take a picture?"

I looked around took time to admire the red forest. The scenery is actually pretty nice to look at. It would actually be a nice place for a picnic if it weren't for the Grimm lurking almost everywhere. Speaking of which, I saw another Beowolf pack approaching us.

"Pyrrha!" I turned to my team and issued the order.

She nodded as she tossed her javelin around the Beowolves while using her semblance to swing them around midair. Nora took care in hammering the others while Ren and I stay back and shoot.

Creeps started popping from the ground, ruining what was otherwise a beautiful scenery with their burrows. I swung my sword towards them, slicing them off one by one as I blast the others. Ren spun around the area, dispatching the other creeps by both shooting and stabbing at them.

Pyrrha was blocking a strike from an Alpha Beowolf's claw then swiftly rolled to its back before grabbing it and stabbing it until it falls dead and vanishes away.

The area was cleared for a few minutes before Pyrhha spotted more Grimm hurtling toward us. "More Creeps!"

Could these things just give up? I irritably thought I turned around and pointed my gun at them. To my surprise and horror, I saw that these Creeps were larger in every aspect and they glowed green while having spikes of the same color on their back. "Wait a minute. Those aren't ordinary Creeps."

"Green spikes! It's those mutated Grimm we were told about." Ren reloaded both of his pistols and aimed at them.

"Ho-hoo sounds fun." Nora gave a slasher smile and gripped her hammer. "Let's kill them then!"

Being Grimm that we never have seen before, they were rather unpredictable unlike most of the mindless Grimm we fought, along with the mutations that could make them do something who knows what which regular Grimm can't do. "Be careful, we don't know what these could do!" I warned them.

Pyrrha changed Milo to its rifle form and fired at one of them. With only two shots, the mutated Grimm exploded into green substance. Ren only took fewer bullets than usual to dispatch one and it exploded just like the ones Pyrrha killed.

"They die quicker than regular Creeps, but they blow up once they're dying." The coin dropped as I figured out what to do with this mutants. "Everyone, switch to range and keep your distance!"

We fired our weapons at the mutated Grimm, all of them erupting into green sludges almost effortlessly. A few more of them came out of their burrows as we rolled ourselves away from them before they exploded. I took out the last one with a single blast from my laser pistol. After that, the area was finally clear, with a few green liquid spluttered around the concrete pathway.

"I've seen plenty of Grimm on my life with varying shapes and sizes, but I've never seen anything like that," Ren remarked, which we could all say the same. We may be able to study different types of Grimm, regardless if they are common or rare, little or large, but these Grimm are different, as a result, we almost know nothing about them, it was fortunate that we managed to find out that Mutant Creeps explode by will or upon death, otherwise someone would have been seriously hurt if not dead.

I took some time to celebrate that we might be the first group to encounter these type of Grimm and live, which was relieving, if haunting, but otherwise I don't know how to feel about that.

"I know they look like Creeps but what kind of speshimen was that?" Nora asked, mispronouncing the word 'specimen'.

"I think it's pronounced 'spi-see-men', Nora," I replied except I think I was wrong about that because I put too much emphasis on the second syllable.

"'Spe-seh-men', actually." Ren corrected.

"Potato-Tomato, what exactly are those things?" Nora inquired.

"We don't exactly know for sure, let's just say their mutated Grimm like the ones we saw at the video during the briefing," I answered. "We need to notify Doctor Oobleck about this."

I took out my scroll and immediately heard the doctor's voice. "Team JNPR! Are you alright?! Grimm activity was detected around your area and your aura levels were on alert status."

"Yeah, we handled them, doc. We even came across some mutated Creeps which could be the ones from Mountain Glenn. We were lucky enough to have them dispatched almost unscathed."

"You did? Could you describe them for me then?"

"They're like the regular ones, only that they're bigger and they glow green. They die quicker but they make up for that by exploding when they die; they'll also blow up if they're too close to you." I explained.

"This is indeed concerning... those mutated Grimm that the poor soldiers found on Mountain Glenn were no fluke. This will require further study. It's fascinating... but very, very troubling. Excellent work, Team JNPR. Keep following those tracks, your encounter with them proves that you are going in the right direction. Be quickly now, the longer we pursue who is behind all of this, the more mutated Grimm that will spawn."

I shuddered at that last statement; I was hoping I'd never meet these green exploding assholes again, but unfortunately, this was only the beginning. By the way, I have yet to meet that mutated Beowolf-looking Grimm back at the briefing that managed to kill a whole squad of soldiers. If these are mutated Creeps, I cannot imagine what other mutated Grimm would be like, aside from the glowing and green spikes.

"You guys found the Grimm with the green thingies?" Ruby said at the other side of the channel.

"Yep. When you find them, whatever you do, don't get too close to them. Those things blow up when they die or when you get too close."

"That's a bummer, I wanted to punch whatever those things are head on." Yang made an aside.

"We'll remember that," Ruby responded. "We found the tunnels to Mountain Glenn; we're going in, wish us luck."

"Ditto," I muttered before putting my scroll down and turning back to my team. "Looks like this is the way, guys, if this it's not, then who knows where are these things coming from."

"We should be careful, I'm sure there would be plenty more of mutated Grimm we'll come across," Pyrrha added.

"Just remember what to do if you see it glow green," Ren stated.

"Don't worry, guys, we'll be poppin' those things before they could ever lay a claw on us." Nors bragged.

I sure hope so, I thought. "Right let's get back on track," I said as I lead them into following the path uphill, with all our guns ready in case more mutated Grimm come. I feel like this going to be a long journey.

* * *

We spent another few minutes treading the path uphill and there was a structure that was getting increasingly visible the more we got close to it. We later found an ancient stone building—a temple, if you will.

I made a subtle groan as I'm starting to get flashbacks of the initiation, at that point, I wouldn't be surprised if we found chess pieces inside that building and get chased by a Deathstalker or Nevermore or something. I went into thinking; if Creeps can get mutated, does that mean Deathstalkers and Nevermores could too? I hoped not and said to myself that I have to stop that maniac before he'll be able to make it possible.

"This must be the place," I said, momentarily gazing at its admittedly impressive architecture before pulling out my scroll to update the Doc. "Doctor Oobleck, we have arrived at the P.O.I. **[1]** "

"Excellent. You know what to do now. I'm sure we are one step away into solving this mystery. Remember to remain cautious; we don't know what our mysterious adversary has in store for us, so expect the worst. Good luck, team."

"We shall take over this stronghold and I will declare myself the queen of the castle!" Nora said before cheerfully bouncing towards it as she sings her song.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" I glanced at my teammates as I check my ammo, in case more mutated Creeps come.

"Ready," Pyrrha replied as readied her rifle while Ren nodded with both of his SMGs raised.

Pyrrha and I faced the front of the large temple doors while Ren and Nora pushed them open. I stood behind Pyrrha while pointing my pistol as she crouched and aimed her rifle toward the door with her shield raised. Once the doors were opened, it was clear of any hostiles but there were some transparent cages of different Grimm—mostly Creeps and Scavers.

On the bright side, it didn't take that much trouble getting here; imagine the door being locked that we have searched the entire area, smashing pots like madmen to find a key, that would have been tediously annoying.

"Dr. Oobleck, this is no ordinary temple," Pyrrha said on her scroll as we carefully walked through the temple's hall while glancing at the trapped Grimm. One of them almost startled me when it tackled its cage right beside me that I almost would have shot the cage out of shock and accidentally free it. Hell, I noticed that most of them are staring at me, likely because I had the most negativity among the four.

"Look those wittle cweeps trying to break out of their cages." Nora gestures to one of them. "Isn't it adorable?"

Please don't point at them, Nora. They hate it when you do that, I nervously thought.

"Someone's been busy collecting Grimm," Ren said.

"Which reminds me, I would have got one if you'd let me!" Nora yelled at him. "Now I'll never get my own Ursa and name it Jormungand!"

"For the last time, Nora. Grimm cannot be domesticated." **[2]** he replied with slight irritation while maintaining his usual composure.

I never understood why some people want to tame Grimm and keep them as pets. I'm already having trouble with real animals, so why should I even bother handling Grimm that doesn't involve shooting or running away from them or both.

"You're just worried that you think I'm going to replace with you something. Don't worry, you'll always be my one and only Ren, but just let me have a pet for once! I promise you'll still be my number one!" she pleaded, in which Ren just rolled his eyes and kept on moving.

"It appears that this temple looks like it's being used as a temporary storage facility—for Grimm of all things!" Doctor Oobleck said through the scroll's channel. "This is quite the discovery. Keep searching, students. I'm positive that we are getting close to one of our objectives. Keep me notified if you find something particularly noteworthy."

I noticed there were a few supply crates scattered around the area, I quickly dashed toward them and took everything I could use. Most of them were useless junk, but there were some worth taking such as dust and tools that were used to capture Grimm, both of which could be sold at a valuable price while coming in handy for a rainy day.

One of the random things I found was a black bishop chess piece that resembled one of the 'artifacts' we took during the initiation. I groaned for a bit. I was only joking when I thought that we might find chess pieces on the temple. Now I'm worried that a Nevermore is going to come over.

While chess pieces obviously don't automatically mean that it's tied to Ozpin, I couldn't help but ask just to be sure.

"Uh, doc? This doesn't belong to the headmaster now is it?" I queried as I showed the piece on the scroll's video feed.

The doctor answered with faint amusement. "Oh, fear not, Jaune, it's just a mere chess piece; nothing more, nothing less. Your days of searching those types of 'artifacts' are over. I'm not going to make you collect chess pieces throughout the mission, don't you worry."

"If you say so, Doc," I said before putting my scroll down. I don't know why I even bought it up, it's not like I wanted to go hunt for more stupid so-called 'artifacts' for a useless bonus.

I went around looking for more items to scavenge. Unfortunately, I got too caught up of looting the place that I did not notice a loose Grimm nearby; I thought the growling was just my stomach since I had a feeling that I didn't eat enough. It wasn't until I heard it roar loud enough that I turned around and saw it charging toward me that my reflexes got me to dive away from there just in time as I almost panicked. I got a good look and saw that the Beowolf was larger and mutated, resembling an Alpha, but like the mutated Creeps, they were glowing green and had green spikes on its back.

I screamed but I made it sound like more like a distress call instead of a pathetic shriek. Please tell me that you go down quicker like your smaller cousins, I silently begged as I took out my pistol and blasted it without thinking.

While there were some noticeable damages, it only got it to anger it and pounced right at me. I dodged to my left and collapsed my shield as it swung its claws to clobber me. I was able to deflect it but it was strong enough that it managed to push me back, which was something even Alpha Beos and Ursa Majors couldn't do even with their full strengths. The mutant Beo was no pushover and was proven to be stronger and quicker than its normal brethren, not to mention, their claws appear to be sharper.

"Guys!" I yelled for help as I did my best to avoid the Mutant Beo's attacks. I decided to run away from it while pointing my gun at it, looking like I'm still trying to fight it when I'm actually trying to make a retreat.

"Angry mutt! Angry mutt!" Nora shouted as she and the other two came out with ANOTHER mutated Beowolf, with Ren and Pyrrha trying to shoot it down while they were at it.

"This one's worse than an Alpha Beo!" Pyrrha stated.

Two of them? Great. My problems just multiplied by two, just what I didn't need, I cursed to myself before turning back to the mutated Beo I previously fought.

While these abominations were tougher than any other Alpha-Grimm we had to face that I considered ditching this temple, they were still shown to be just as vulnerable as I could see them getting damaged after my teammates use their weapons against them. This meant we could still kill them if we hit them a lot enough, thankfully.

"Ren, Nora, you take care of that one, Pyrrha and I will handle this one!" I ordered.

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Ren inquired before backflipping away from the other mutant Beo's claw.

"Don't let it hit you, their attacks are much stronger than the regular ones that you die in a hit or two," I instructed as I dodged one of its attacks before I went close to it to bash its face. I slashed it a few times before it roars loudly that it was about to pounce me. It was distracted by Pyrrha's gunshots on its back, making it turn. I have her additional fire support by shooting on its back until it was stunned from the gunshots from both its front and back.

Pyrrha leaped toward it, kicked it as she made a backflip before throwing her javelin towards its head then pulled it back to her as she changed to its xiphos form. The two of us charged in and slashed the mutant Beowolf back and forth until it was finally finished off. Unlike the Mutated Creeps, this one doesn't explode, it just vanishes like any other Grimm, except that the same green substances drop away from its corpse, I'd say that's a good thing, these things are already enough trouble as they are.

Meanwhile, the other mutant Beo was trying to get near to Nora who was pushing it back by firing grenades at it, not aware of a tranquil Ren rushing towards its back before proceeding to stab it and slash its hind legs. It cried out in agony as it shoves away Ren, throwing him to a wall and Nora wasn't happy about that. It then proceeded to smash the ground, summoning a line of crystals coming to Nora on for her to leap off and changed her to hammer as she smashed the mutant Beowolf's head with it. She went to Ren and helped him up, the mutant Beo charged toward them only for Ren to hold one of Nora's hands and use his semblance to mask them both, making it lose sight of the two's negative energy. Ren proceeded to grab Nora's arm and threw her at the mutant Beo, she swung her hammer and smacked it at impact, sending it crashing to the other. Nora got out unharmed and finished it off with another thump.

"Holy moly, I just I killed a Grimm that's big and glowy!" Nora remarked with a mix of surprise and joy.

"Did you guys notice it bring spikes after it smashed the ground?" Ren turned to us and asked while panting for air. "That's not something a Grimm could normally do. Who and what's causing all these mutations?"

"No idea, but I'm very sure that anyone who would modify a Grimm to be stronger must have some pretty loose screws," I told them before bringing out my scroll to contact Oobleck of the latest discovery. "Doctor Oobleck? We may have found the mutated spi-see-men—"

"Spe-seh-men." Ren corrected. At this point, he might as well be our walking pronunciation guide.

I'm going to get that a lot until I managed to pronounce that correctly, am I not? "Whatever. We're here to confirm that the creature that attacked the soldiers on Mountain Glenn are really Mutant Beowolves."

"Mutated Beowolves, hm?" the doc pondered. "What can you tell me that makes these Mutated Beowolves deviate from the normal ones?"

"These things don't explode like Creeps. They're like Alpha Beowolves—only worse and they have this ability where they bring in green crystals after smashing the ground."

"I see. It appears that our fugitive seems to be making different experiments on each kind of Grimm. I'll inform Team RWBY of this. Keep searching—there must be some sort of lab somewhere if we are truly this close to uncovering the mystery."

"Roger." I nodded before putting the scroll back in my pocket.

We went around the temple looking for a lab or some sort of testing ground. So far, we managed to find nothing save for more storages of caged Grimm and some items which I took, of course, but we were able to find an exit somewhere at the back of the temple.

"Maybe we should head out there," Pyrrha suggested, pointing at the exit. "Might lead us to somewhere."

"I guess we already searched every nook and cranny of this place," I said. "Alright let's go."

We head out and followed the path from the exit. Shortly we found what seems to be a port, albeit apparently abandoned judging by the rusty textures of the containers if you look at them closely enough, along with a stationary crane. There was also a ship parked there that doesn't appear dilapidated but it possesses the logo of Merlot Industries despite the company being no more. Not only that, but few of the containers carry the insignia as well.

We stayed behind a rock that was overlooking the port on a slope. We can't risk going in there without being sure yet.

"A shipping port in Forever Fall?" Pyrrha asked in a puzzled tone. "Who else knows about this?"

"I see the ship with the same symbol as the cargo containers." Ren pointed out. "Someone was indeed using Merlot Industries' assets despite the company now being defunct."

"Doctor Oobleck…" I said at the scroll's channel after sending him some visual references, "Are you seeing this?"

"Is that a port?" he paused for a bit, undoubtedly taking time to study the photo I sent to him. "Judging by the condition of that ship, it doesn't appear to be abandoned from something belonging to a company that hasn't operated for a decade—meaning that somebody has been using it recently."

"Whoever this baddie is, just say the word and I'll give Torchwick a fellow cripple in prison!" Nora said to me.

"Remember whoever is behind all of this managed to break into Emerald Forest's security network and successfully mutated Grimm that killed several well-armed and well-trained soldiers, so you'll have to take some extra precautions." Doctor Oobleck advised. "Furthermore, Team RWBY is done investigating the subway tunnels and are now heading your way and will arrive within half an hour. I want you to stay put and watch over the port in the meantime. You might need some extra manpower for this task. Call me if you see something suspicious or if the ship is about to depart."

Staring at a cargo. Oh boy, here we go again. If I'm right about a pattern here, I could see what's going to come and that better not be the case. Luckily I'll have the joint forces of RWBY-JNPR should things go wrong, we might be even able to win without me doing anything.

 **=o=**

1\. _Point of Interest._

2\. _Grimm can be collected for the purpose of research, or in some cases, such as Professor Port's classes, use them as live test subjects during training._

* * *

Around thirty minutes or so, we waited while watching over the docks. Nora was getting impatient with her trigger-finger twitching; Ren was keeping watch of the docks for anything anomalous; Pyrrha was blowing off steam and meditating so she could have enough aura to protect her while being able so she could use semblance more. Meanwhile, I was checking my inventory, examining at what I've looted as I decide which to use and which to sell. I could feel my skin shudder as I sense that something perilous is afoot.

Team RWBY arrived, aside from looking ragged and somewhat sweaty, for the most part, they look fine for people that have to explore a train tunnel and had likely encountered their fair share of mutated Grimm.

"We're here. What's this all about?" Ruby was the first to ask as the four of them approach us.

"There's a cargo belonging to Merlot Industries. We suspect that whoever we are going after, is using the defunct company's asset and they are likely to be very close." Pyrrha got up and answered, cocking the handle of her rifle.

"Notice that the ship bears the same logo." Ren pointed out. "If someone has been using the ship, then it must be the same person responsible for the security breach and the mutated Grimm."

Yang smirked. "Alright, let me at this guy. Whoever this chump is, they're going to pay for making the mutant Beo that sliced up my hair."

"Your hair looks the same." Nora of all people pointed out. Her hair was unkempt indeed, but it was always that way. Then again, this was Yang we are talking about.

"It's still a golden rule not to touch my totally gorgeous and perfect hair!" she said, her eyes briefly turning red before immediately cheering up and chucking. "Geddit?! Golden! Cause my…" Everyone turned to glare at her, even Ren who was focused on watching the docks. "I think you catch my drift."

"As much as I want this person to pay for the abominations they created, I'd prefer to have them arrested. They'll have to answer for what they've caused." Weiss chimed in.

"Can I still punch them in the face?" Yang asked.

Nora followed. "Or break their legs? "

"Just make sure they'll still be able to talk." she sighed. "I'm curious at what made someone would have the audacity to strengthen a Grimm when they're already enough of a threat."

Because they're freaking insane, that's what. "That's one of the things we're trying to find out," I said.

The doctor spoke through everyone's scrolls. "Alright, everyone. Now that you're all there, I'm going to need you to get a closer look to see what kind of cargo they're carrying. But be careful not to be spotted. Who knows what kind of security they have."

"Doesn't look hard," Yang commented. "At least after having to deal with exploding Creeps and things what I would like to call Double-Alpha Beowolves."

Checking the view again, I found getting the impression that the port was too suspiciously empty. If it does provide something significant on this mission, then it was too convenient to find it unoccupied. "Why do I get the feeling that it only looks that way so they could catch us off-guard?"

"So this is the port," Blake said and gazed at it. "Didn't know the Forever Falls had one."

"Looks abandoned," Ruby remarked, using her sniper's scope to survey the area.

"Probably because it is," Ren replied. "It looked like it hasn't been used since the company shut down."

Weiss scanned at the crates. Some containers were green and had the emblem of the Kingdom of Vale, others were Orange and had the Merlot Industries logo, but what got her attention was the blue crates with a very familiar logo. "Wait a minute, are those SDC crates?"

"Old SDC crates, I think," Blake replied. "They're about as rusty as the other crates on the pier, and I'm very certain that the SDC likes to pride itself with pristine containers."

Weiss glared at her, looking irritated by that statement, but ended up more or less concurring with her. "Well, you're not wrong."

"What's the plan?" Pyrrha turned to me and asked.

They all stared at me as they waited for the word of their resident hero. I made a brief glance at the dock before speaking, "Alright, Blake and Ren will go in first and scout the area to see if it's fully clear. Ruby and Pyrrha will stay here and provide sniper support, seeing as you're both marksmen. Everyone else including me will position ourselves before the entrance to the port until Ren and Blake say it's clear then we go in and find everything we need. Did you guys get all that?"

They all nodded and proceeded to cock their respective weapons. I was a little anxious that some unwanted repercussions might happen and that this might not work out right, but I was confident that it'll get the job done while keeping me out of harm's way. I gave them a smile as I ordered them to move out.

Ren and Blake entered the while everyone save for Ruby and Pyrrha followed and went behind cover near the dock's the entrance, all weapons—pistols, hammers, rapiers, and gauntlets—ready, while occasionally peeking out.

Blake reported the status of the area a couple of minutes later, "The place is clear. We checked the ship too, it seems that no one's on board. We haven't checked the containers yet, but so far, there's no sight of anything hostile."

"We found nothing on our sights either." Ruby added, "I guess you could say it's safe. We'll keep a lookout just in case."

"Alright then," I responded before glancing back to my other teammates, "Move out and check the cargo."

And so went in and spread out, opening every cargo to find something that could be the key to solving this mystery. Some containers contained cages, empty or otherwise. Others contain barrels of what appears to contain the serum that was probably used to mutate Grimm; we took some samples of it to bring back to Beacon for study. Most other containers just contain mundane things such as crates full of tools and parts, medical equipment, some minerals and a few crates of dusts—which were particularly stored in the SDC crates. I could make a fortune selling these as well as getting a significant supply of dust for us to use, so I took all that I could carry.

A few more containers opened, aside from the aforementioned barrels of green liquid, we haven't been able to find anything until Nora found something that caught her attention.

"Hey, look, machines!"

We went to Nora to check her discovery. It was a crate filled with red android-like thingies all inactive and sitting in a tucked position. I kept my laser pistol pointed at them in case these things turn on and start attacking us.

"I don't think I have ever seen this model of a machine before," Ren said.

"Could it be an invention of the person behind this?" Blake asked.

"Very likely. By the looks of it, these robots appear to be brand new and they must have been delivered here recently."

"If that's the case, then this person we're after, must have ties to Merlot Industries or at least had worked there before it collapsed, seeing as how they were capable of mutating Grimm and possessing these robots." Weiss chimed in.

The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to question with who we're after. We're either after a lone evil genius or a group of people planning something not good. If it's the latter, one could guess that they were ex-employees of the company or maybe the company never actually shut-down. "I don't know, guys, but I think we're maybe after more than one person here. I couldn't grasp that one person could do all of this."

"You might be right," Blake replied. "We're very likely witnessing a scheme of an unethical organization that was able to gain access to resources for an unknown yet undoubtedly vile purpose."

"Well, that, or one person was really determined enough to do all of this," Weiss remarked.

"Either way, the question is—where is all of this coming from?" Ren pondered.

"We'll be sure to find out. If we could get into the ship's system, we could trace the route to back to where it came from." Blake proposed.

"I have experiences with tech, I'll be sure to examine once we're done checking every cargo," he assured.

"Speaking of which, we need to get back to securing this place," I said. "Someone will have to guard the robots though."

Blake nodded and went back to survey the docks while everyone else stayed to examine the robots for another minute. Yang suddenly stepped in and went in front of the dormant robots and waved at them. "Ohayou, Mr. Roboto! Can you and your pals please wake up so you can make this mission less boring for me?"

Weiss glared at her. "Are you really trying to provoke them just so you could satisfy your need for adrenaline?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Yang responded. "Besides, I doubt these tin cans could stand a chance against me."

"Should I break them before they awaken? These things possess heretical A.I." Nora asked.

"Just watch over them in the meantime. There might be something worth salvaging inside them. You can destroy these unholy abominations later," Ren answered before leaving. Further reminding me that these two were part of some sort of weird technocratic cult that I would choose to worry about another time so I could focus at my current task that was at hand.

"Whatever, I'll have my EMPs ready." Nora rotated her launcher's chamber. Good to know she bought those just in case, I've been worried about fighting robots at one point. I knew Nora's fear of robots would end up becoming useful at some point.

Everyone returned to their respective activities. I went back to whatever I was doing—taking all of the dust I could get. Unfortunately, I wasn't being considerate nor conspicuous when doing it around the others, so Weiss found me looting from an SDC container.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked suspiciously.

I looked back at her and answered somewhat nervously. "Uh, scavenging for supplies."

"Are you? Because it looks to me that you are stealing—from my family's company no less!"

Great, here comes Lady Nags-a-lot. This is what I get for not being careful when collecting dust in front of the dust princess. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure your family lost this by the time this port was abandoned. The SDC must have already replaced this cargo a long time ago." I calmly defended.

"It does not change the fact that they're still Schnee Dust Company assets, and by stealing them, you are stealing from the company, and to some extent—ME!" she retorted.

She was becoming increasingly infuriating to deal with that I dropped the nice guy charade. I admit, I actually found her aggravation of me to be quite refreshing after receiving a whole lot of blind praise these past months, but I've enduring her attitude since the day one that I pretty much had it with her stuck-up, spoiled-rotten attitude. I'm still wondering how her teammates were able to put up with her crap for an entire semester.

"We're in a fairly capitalist society, princess. Someone bought this cargo a long time ago, and once someone buys it, it's no longer yours, simple as that. I thought you already know this, seeing as you're the company's heiress. Now I see why the headmaster never chose you as leader of your team." I sardonically replied as I went back to taking all the dust I could get my hands on.

Yang passed through and patted her short teammate's head. "Ooh, he got ya' there Ice Queen. He has his moments but who knew Vomit-Boy could be such a smart-alec?"

You have no idea. Aside from rare moments such as this where I don't have the patience to hide it, I'll keep it that way so everyone could still keep seeing me as a nice dorky guy they thought me as.

"He does this sometimes, you'll get used to it," Nora said to Weiss as she passed through her

"And you're okay with this?!" Weiss exclaimed at her before turning back and stomped toward me. "Desperately taking someone's bike to get to somewhere quickly was one thing but this is just outright thievery!"

For the Gods' sake, she's still being adamant about this. It makes me almost glad that Pyrrha was never partnered with her during the initiation, with her wishes of 'popular girls being at each other's backs' getting ruined.

"Weiss, you practically live in dust, this should be nothing to you. This doesn't belong to the SDC anymore. Finders, keepers. Now, please go bother someone else." I said as I finished gathering the dusts and went inside the next container.

I sliced the crates open and took everything I could carry while being careful enough not trigger any of them. Unsurprisingly enough, Weiss followed me, still being as stubborn as ever.

"I'm not stopping!"

I sighed in annoyance. "Seriously?"

"I demand you to hand me over the dusts you've taken, and take back what you said there, or else I would never forgive you for this!"

I rolled my eyes. At that point, I decided that this was not worth the trouble I would be facing. "If I only do the former, then would you shut up?"

"Just give them to me and maybe I'll be a little forgiving!"

"As little as your bust size?" I sarcastically asked.

Her face turns red in anger as she growled. "Now you're just being insufferable! Since when were you like this? I was content with you being a goof with a thick skull."

"Trust me, I'm still there. There are just a lot of things you don't know about me, Weiss-Queen," I answered. "Now can I at least keep a third of the dust I took or you're just going to be stingy? I promise I'll even give you my crappy apology if I have to."

"You're not getting a single—!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Nora suddenly screamed, interrupting our heated moment.

We both tried to rush out of the container, only for an android to block the exit and suddenly shut the doors, trapping us both inside. We suddenly found ourselves collapsing to the ground as the container begins to be lifted. I tried to aim at the door to shoot it open with a laser blast but Weiss grabbed my pistol down before I was able to do so.

"Don't! Trying to fire an inside of an SDC container with your laser would only make it ricochet back to us and kill us both! You can't cut this container down without special equipment!" Weiss chided, her voice was echoing inside the container, which the same thing happened to me.

"Was it really necessary to make your containers extra tough?!"

"Yes! So it could prevent thefts!" **[1]**

"Great, now it's preventing us to not get ourselves stolen!" I yelled now that we were trapped in there.

The ground and walls rumbled as we felt the container drop. I could hear gunshots, destruction and screaming outside, telling me there was a fight going. We got up and took out our scrolls to contact our teammates into getting us out.

"Ruby! Are you there?" Weiss called.

"Pyrrha! Ren! Nora! I'm at a container that's in the ship—I think!" I reported to them in my scroll.

Sadly, all we got was static. We did hear some transmissions from Doctor Oobleck from the others but they were all undecipherable; I was sure that they couldn't hear us either. We kept trying to contact to no avail until we were forced to accept that our network was disrupted.

"They've somehow jammed our communications!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" I went to the side of the container and began banging the insides containers and screamed as loud as I could for help. "Guys! Help! We're trapped in here! Can you hear me?!"

"This can't be happening. This cannot be happening!" Weiss panicked back and forth and joined me in banging the container for distress.

But because of how loud the excitement was outside and they seemed to be too occupied into fighting those robots, I don't think they heard us nor were they aware that we were trapped in a container.

To make this nightmare worse, we could feel the ship set sail as the sounds of fighting became more distant the farther we get. We were officially screwed.

Needless to say, neither of us was very happy about that. "No! No! No! NO!" I began panicking as I kicked the wall of the container.

"I can't believe I'm getting involuntarily smuggled—with you of all people!" Weiss squawked.

I held the wall and the panted heavily. I noticed that I was already sweating and that I need to calm down and conserve my oxygen if I'm going to stay here for who knows how long.

"So…" I turned back to her to that she was folding her arms and was scowling at me. I was winced at her for a moment before attempting to smile and extenuate the situation n…rather pathetically. "Maybe you can have the dusts now."

She winked at me before growling and punching my gut, something which my aura decided not to protect me from. I saw it coming and I still made no effort to dodge it, probably because I felt too guilty for being partly responsible for putting both of us in this mess that I allowed her to have it.

I fell to the ground and groaned in pain. "I deserve that…"

"This is all your fault! If you just decided not to be greedy or just listen for once, neither of us would be even trapped in here!"

"And we wouldn't be if you just left me alone," I got up and retorted, suppressing the urge to slap an annoying heiress of a multibillion-lien company on the face, something I really wanted to do for a long time but I suppose the situation I was in was already heated enough—literally because it was pretty hot inside the box, with only little ventilation to barely provide enough air inside. "But does it really matter whose fault it is? We're both stuck in here. I'd say save your breath because you'll need it. Let's hope this would be a short trip."

Her narrowed eyes stared at me for a few seconds before she groaned and went to the other side of the container and faced the wall. I decided to lean back at the side and sit down. I stared at her back before looking up to the vent above me.

The worst part about this was I could sense my motion sickness acting out again. I did my best to hold it back so I could avoid making a puddle inside this claustrophobic hellhole and be stuck with it for minutes if not hours. This was not what I had in mind when I said I wanted to go sailing the other day.

If only I took a hint and not go overboard on my looting. I swear I would have instead challenged those machines for a battle of supremacy if it meant avoiding this.

I'm on a boat… and I hate it. Where the hell is this ship heading to, anyway?

 **=o=**

1\. _And to keep slave laborers—particularly faunus—loaded inside, admittedly. Back then, we would occasionally transport faunus prisoners and some laborers by putting them inside the containers. Thanks to faunus getting access to equal rights and the company reforming, this practice has been banned and discontinued._

* * *

I've been staring at my scroll's clock and it's been forty minutes since we've been trapped here and being stowed to Gods know where. We've been trying to contact the others, but all we got was static due to the signal being almost nonexistent. Occasionally, if we're very lucky, we would sometimes receive a brief transmission and even hear them albeit they were inaudible due to them being obscured by the loud and rampant static.

The container has been dark, damp and hot, with the only light source coming from a small vent as light glares from the outside. I had a hard time breathing; if it wasn't for the vent, we would have suffocated by now. I'm instantly reminded of the time Cardin and his goons locked me up on my own locker last semester, so this wasn't the first time I've been trapped inside a steel cage with limited ventilation. Hopefully, this would be the last—and not for the fatally wrong reason.

Weiss was still on the other corner, sitting and looking down. We've been silent to each other ever since this ship started to sail. The only time we made contact was an occasional stare until one of us decides to look away.

I wiped away my sweat, breathing heavily out of dehydration. I was becoming desperate enough that I considered biting off one of the ice dusts for water—but even I know that ice dusts don't work that way. Come to think of it, I could cast an ice dust and suck the water from it, but I decided not to risk it. **[1]**

Suddenly, Weiss stood and went toward me. She offered me a half-empty water canteen that has her family's emblem on it. While I can feel that she's still pissed at me, she doesn't seem to be in a mood for more bickering, "Here. It's not much but it'll last you longer."

I was in a state of shock, denial, and disbelief, but I was happy that she decided to put aside her vexation of me and do this. "That's awfully generous of you. Thanks." I took the canteen, drank it and found myself refreshed.

"Don't mention it. I only did what I thought was the right thing to do, even if it's for an unbearable dunce like you," she said, sitting down next to me as I handed back her canteen.

I smiled at her smugly. "I see that being with someone like Ruby has helped you endure dumb idiots like me."

She gave me a dirty look. "And I'm starting to suspect that you're not actually an idiot at all. You're probably just a wise-mouthed jerk who likes to pretend that he's one."

Well, crap. I pretty much lost all my patience with her at that point that I began to blurt out and blew a part of my cover. Shouldn't have been much of a smartass. I still wasn't in the mood of playing nice and dumb, so I might as well keep being myself then, "Could be. Your mileage may vary, after all. Are you implying that I'm smarter than I look?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I know you made yourself a leader and a decent tactician, but that doesn't stop you for being a dimwit—even if you just happen to be some caustic buffoon all along."

"Aren't I already ridiculous?"

She growled, "You said it yourself then," she remarked before pausing for a moment and then speaking in a cordial tone in contrast to the cold nature of hers that I was used to. "You know, I haven't properly thanked you yet."

"For what?"

"For getting Neptune to dance with me during that night. I was surprised he suddenly asked me out after he shot me down. He said I have you to thank since you were the one that talked him to get the courage to partake in a dance with me."

"Oh, that was nothing. He just needed a little encouragement, that's all," I replied. I don't think I deserved that much of a praise. I've only done what any decent human being would have done at the time, and even then, I believe her other friends would have done a better job than I did. **[2]**

"Don't be too modest. I wouldn't have danced with anybody that night if it wasn't for you," she said before slightly blushing. "You know, you could've danced with me if you wanted to."

I chuckled in disbelief, finding the concept of Weiss accepting an idiot like me to be ridiculous. I have never done anything that truly makes me worthy of her. While Neptune can be somewhat over his head sometimes, at least he has good looks to make up for it. "Somehow, I doubt it."

"I think you're doubting yourself too much. I mean, how bad can it be?"

It won't be that bad, I think, but it'll be worse than what she's thinking. "Would you still be okay with me if I kept asking you out a few times when you reject me every single time while some people thought I was being a creep and refuse to get over it?"

She stared at me confusedly. "Please, Jaune. What are you rambling about? That just sounds incredibly ludicrous."

"Because it is," I stated. Thankfully I wasn't that much of an idiot and at least I know how to take a hint. "By the way, how are you and Neptune doing so far?"

"We're getting along. You could say we're dating, but we haven't made much progress."

Better than nothing, I suppose. I'm just going to leave it at that. I only helped Neptune out that night because I only felt bad for Weiss, but now she's his responsibility, and he should be aware of that. So whatever happens to this relationship is none of my concern. "I'm just glad you two have settled."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," she smiled at me warmly "I still haven't forgiven you for abandoning me with the records the other day though."

"Yeah, sorry. I had some questions I wanted some answers from Penny. Otherwise, I would have stayed and helped you out." Which in hindsight, I wish I did, because the decision to follow Penny eventually got into the White Fang's bank robbery. If I just stayed with Weiss and examine boring records, I would have accompanied her to Torchwick's highway rampage with the Paladin and I didn't have to steal a bike and go the wrong way, eventually making my ignominious reputation worse.

"At least you stopped a White Fang robbery because of it," she replied.

"My thoughts exactly." I puffed, concealing my frustration with that turn of events, that was the same misfortune that bought both of us here. I turned back to her, "Tell you what, when we get out of this, maybe I could invite you for cake and tea when we get home to make up for our rocky relationship."

"Are you being serious?" she asked. I shrugged and left the answer ambiguous, which earned me a slight glare from her. "Whatever. I'll consider it then. You're not a bad guy, Jaune, you're just really strange. I think it would be a good idea to know you better; that way, maybe I'll understand why people even like you so much."

I flashed her a smile, "I look forward to it, then."

Weiss stayed silently on my side for a few more minutes, only this time, she wasn't aloof ice queen she was, which was comforting since I kind of missed her amiable demeanor she displayed during the night after our first day of class and I kinda like seeing her being nice.

We suddenly felt the ship went to a halt as we heard the engine stopped. This alerted both of us as we both stood and readied our weapons. We both kept still and quiet to listen for any sudden movements since we can't be sure if whoever going to open this container is hostile or a friendly unarmed civilian but seeing as we're essentially being kidnapped, the former was to be expected.

Those robots made a mistake of letting us keeping our weapons, surrounded by loads of dust on the floor.

We later heard stomping approaching the cargo. Listening to it carefully, we confirmed that the sound was metallic, telling us that it one of those robots. If they aren't going to try to disarm us and take us prisoner, they will be sure to kill us.

"They're coming, get ready," Weiss said as she went to her combat stance.

Pointing my pistol at the exit, preparing for one of the robots to open up and show up, I looked at the dusts crates and felt the coin drop. "Grab a few dusts, I have an idea."

She turned to me and looked skeptical but quickly complied. "I'm trusting you with this."

We took some dust crystal and carefully placed them near the door. Now, I know that I'm not the brightest guy when it came to dust use, but even I know that we should only use a small amount because one too much would get us killed while having too few won't make much of an impact. Once we're done we rushed back to the other side.

"Stay behind me, wait until I say go," I instructed. She nodded and went behind my back with her weapon drawn as she waits for my signal.

I took out my sword and placed it on the ground since there wasn't a place where I could put it when I'm holding both my shield and gun. I raised my shield and pointed my gun at the door.

The footsteps were becoming more audible before we heard the container's door about to be open. I readied my trigger finger as I focus at the door and the dusts placed on the floor near it.

"Ready?" I asked Weiss, I did not turn to see what her answer was, but I was sure that she's ready. The door finally opened as the robot showed itself with its eyes glowing red. **[3]** "Now!"

We wasted no time to fire our respective weapons toward the small litter of dust crystals near the entrance. As I planned, it created an explosion, slightly pushing back the container and the both of us while I block incoming projectiles on my shield—and to some extent—the impact of the explosion. While I fell to Weiss, she doesn't appear injured, and neither was I thanks to our auras, she does look a bit irritated but it was the least of her problems at the moment.

It seemed to have done the trick. The first thing I saw after getting up was seeing pieces of the robots scattered on the ground. I collapsed my shield and placed it back at my belt before picking up my sword from the ground. We ran out, embracing the fresh air with my breath as I vow never to take oxygen for granted ever again.

We saw that we were at a platform on a ship, which was docked ashore in an unknown location. The place can be described as a deserted island with some traces of an industry. I assumed that the structures here belonged to Merlot Industries. The island wasn't a tropical paradise—the color scheme was dull, there were no palm trees and the weather was lackluster. Not really a place you'd like to go on vacation.

There were four more robots on the ships. They were almost humanoid and carried double-bladed polearms as their weapons. While Weiss handled the other side of killer robots, I charged toward the other two, rolling from one of their swings before I fired my laspistol on its back. The other robot attempted to swing its weapon vertically towards me, but I managed to block it with my sword, while doing so, I blasted its chest with my laser pistol before slicing its head off. Once I was done with the first tin can, the other turned around. I shot its head and then shot its torso twice. The robot fell headless with a chest full of holes like Helvetican cheese.

Apparently, energy weaponry is effective not only to organics but to machines as well. I really love this gun; taking it from some White Fang rando was the best decision I've ever made.

I turned to Weiss, who was surrounded by dismantled robot parts after pulling her rapier from a metal body. We looked around our surroundings and saw that there were no more robots on the ship approaching, so it was safe to say that it was clear for now.

"Where are we?" she asked after glancing around the area for any clue of our location.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out," I answered.

Weiss pulled out her scroll to check her communications, we were still only getting static. "Unbelievable. Still nothing."

"I see a radio tower just up ahead," I said, pointing toward it on the island. "Maybe we could use it to transmit to Beacon's signal. Let's be careful, I don't like the look of this place."

"Well, let's go with that then! I don't have any better ideas at the moment." Weiss responded. "Since we're in a desperate situation—I'm letting you take some of the dust. We're going to need everything at our disposal."

I grinned at her for accepting me to take dusts, it really had to take getting kidnapped for her to finally allow me to do that. "Now you're talking." But sadly, if I'm to be realistic by this, most of the dusts I took would have been used on the way of escaping this island, so it was still for nothing, I would have rather not touched them if I knew that it would lead me to this.

"Don't get too with comfortable with my generosity, Arc," Weiss warned. "I still find your 'scavenging' to be objectionable."

"Whatever, Schnee. Let's focus on getting out of this." I replied. She rolled her eyes at my remark but she complied and chose to continue our verbal sparring for later.

Before getting off-board, we roamed around the ship to check if it's clear. We went to the bridge, armed to the teeth and ready to engage with anyone, only to find out that it was empty. We discovered that no one was piloting the ship and it was being controlled remotely.

There were a few file drawers nearby so I went to check to see if there was something I should know, however, I found nothing that intrigued me aside from a sticky note that is written as 'Lusus Naturae', **[4]** I assumed there was something important with that and not just some random writing so I took it just in case.

It was then we decided that there's nothing for us here and set foot on the island's shore, we proceeded to head toward the visible tower not far from where we were at.

 **=o=**

1\. _It's actually possible to manipulate a dust crystal into using a bare minimum of its element, with some precision and steadiness required, but due to Jaune's limited knowledge on dust use, he was not aware of that._

2\. _I doubt it since Neptune wasn't exactly the greatest communicator with the opposite sex outside of flirting, especially if Yang was the one that attempted to persuade him; who would have likely threatened him, making Neptune's decision to change his mind to be forced and ingenuine._

3. _Jaune is misremembering details here, the red androids' eyes lights are actually blue. To be fair, the hostile nature of the machines makes it easy to mistake them with more alarming colors. The gunner androids do have red lights, however._

4\. _Translates to 'Freak of Nature' in Old Imperial._

* * *

It wasn't even five minutes into the island yet, but it was already made clear that I was right about it being a dreary, solitary dryland with some buildings that indicated that there was an establishment here. Also since it was around five in the afternoon, the sky was getting darker, which ended up making the island's atmosphere a whole lot worse. Notably, this made both of us be extra vigilant, as the people who established a base here may possibly be the ones responsible for all the chaos that led to us here.

However, so far on our way to the communications tower, we haven't found anyone yet. The first place we stumbled upon after exiting the shore was a warehouse. The place looks abandoned, with nothing but tumbleweeds passing by. There were symbols of the Merlot Industries logo placed almost everywhere, confirming that this place used to belong to them and that our target(s) may have ties to the company prior, otherwise there was nothing else that could explain why they have access to this company's resources and use it against us.

I was tempted to go raid the warehouse stashes for supplies, but Weiss kept giving me suspicious looks that I decided not to do it to prevent more annoying time-wasting arguments from Beacon's resident Ice Queen. While there wasn't a single soul to be found as of yet, this place wasn't free from Grimm. Shortly after we visited the warehouse a few Creeps and Scavers and a couple of Boarbatusks popped out. I wasn't surprised—in fact, I was wondering when they will show up considering that our target was experimenting with them. Not to mention any abandoned establishment far away from the kingdoms is guaranteed to have Grimm at one point or another.

Despite only being the two of us with little cohesion, we didn't have much trouble dealing them since we trained hard enough for the past months that we were sure to handle an entire pack alone. While Huntsmen work better on teams, they are still expected to have the ability to take care of themselves individually and take on a number of Grimm without back up.

This was why I thought I was screwed if I didn't have a magical regal-looking, dust-spamming, ice skating, fencer of an heiress with me. Aside from that, I stabbed one of the Boarbatusks on its ass before I could confirm its kill, I've only managed to kill a handful of the other weaker Grimm, which is nothing impressive, as it's just Huntsman standard. Weiss meanwhile managed to slay several of them at the same time, thanks to her Glyphs and large damage impact of the dusts she uses.

It's a good thing we bought a lot of dusts. After we were done with the Grimm, she is allowing me to scavenge as long as we are taking necessary supplies such as dusts and ammo, she'll be fine with it, which I was actually pretty happy to hear about.

Moving on, we went straight to the communications tower after we were done checking the warehouse. Thankfully, there weren't any further obstacles when we were going up the tower, unfortunately, we discovered yet another obstacle that hinders us from escaping this island.

"Oh, great." Weiss muttered after attempting to access the tower's terminal, "It's password protected."

I thought we were both doomed as there barely have an alternative and neither two of us have any experience in hacking, that was before I felt the coin drop and remembered the piece of paper I picked up back at the ship. "Hold on,"

Weiss stepped aside as I took over the terminal and typed in 'Lusus Naturae,' and it worked, much to my joy and surprise. While my looting tendency arguably put both of us to this mess, it also going to help us get out too.

I've wasted no more time connecting the tower's signal to our scroll's channel, the only thing we had to do was wait a few minutes for it to reach Beacon's signal, hopefully, quick enough before the opposing force discovers us. If I was desperate and have gone crazy enough, I would even have gone as far as to pray to the machine spirit just so it could reach our transmission sooner.

"And now we wait." I faced towards Weiss and turned away from the screen which says 'Transmitting Signal' with a progress bar under it.

"At least we're making progress," she said rather unenthusiastically, her face was still as flat as her breasts **[1]** , which was still preferable than her nagging at me as if she was the less patient version of my mom.

The process took a little while. Both of us went on the lookout in the meantime, but all we got was ambient silence, even when I briefly scouted the area with some caution, there weren't any Grimm nor robots, so I guessed it was a good time to relax for a bit that we ended up sitting it out, but this only made me more worried as it felt too peaceful and empty that it was suspicious. Something surely was lurking around the area waiting to strike. A place like this can't be fully peaceful.

After five minutes passed, I checked the screen and saw the progress bar was half-finished, meaning all we had to do was wait for five more minutes. I gritted my teeth and trembled for as I continued to wait while my Huntsman senses keep telling that something sinister is afoot which was why I was holding my pistol for the whole duration.

"So, how's Pyrrha?" Weiss sudden question startled me for a bit while I was on the lookout for something potentially dangerous, but I was able to settle down and respond.

"Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"I'm just curious how she's holding up in your team."

I was still hesitant to give her an answer. Even if we're starting to get along, I'm still not sure to trust her that much. For all I know, she might be just looking for a topic to gossip about. "There must be a reason for your curiosity."

She rolled her eyes, "Just answer the question. Do you really want to make this harder for the both of us?"

I groaned and decided to spit it out. It was a harmless question and I didn't want to vex her again, it was best for her to keep her composure and I didn't need any more of her whining especially if I'm going to be stuck with her for a while.

"She's doing fine. She's comfortable enough and she's glad she's with us. She wouldn't have it any other way." I answered. It was straight to the point and it didn't provide any specific information while it satisfied Weiss' curiosity, so it was rather a win-win.

"There, that's all I wanted to hear. Simple is it?" she dryly said.

"Yeah. Aside from that, she's obsessed with making everything tidy." I added. I kid you not, aside from giving her performance anxiety, Pyrrha's winning streak kind of turned her into a neat-freak and a borderline perfectionist. Thankfully she's only like that with her own stuff, otherwise, I would have gotten insane.

She stares at me for a bit, "That sounds… incredibly like her," she remarked.

"But she's mostly fine, you'll just have to keep the dorm neat and you'll have nothing to worry about." I said before taking my turn to ask the questions, "What about you? How are you holding up in your team?"

"They're… pretty okay."

"How's so?"

"They can be very troublesome sometimes, but they're my teammates, and we have to look out for each other even if they do like to test my patience. Over time, I began to appreciate for what they are despite our problems together."

Sounds like me and my sisters, no wonder I was able to handle everyone's antics. It's a good thing they have someone like me to balance things out. "I see."

"You know you people aren't actually bad. It just takes getting used being in a rather crazy circle of friends."

"Glad you're getting along with us then." I remarked, "You know, you're actually pretty likable when you're being nice. Why can't you act more like it? Did Vale's warm weather increased your temper or something?"

"It's because all of you like to get in my nerves. If you people would only make yourselves more bearable I would have been nicer." she defensively replied and crossed her arms, "And please tell me Jaune. Are you really like this? Because I really don't get you, it's like you're a different person from whom I met the first day."

Godsdammit, this better not be the last day where I'll be recognized as a friendly dork who happens to be one of the most popular students in the academy. It was going well ever since my attempt to pretend to be some wimp who was somehow qualified for Beacon failed miserably. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, and now you're playing dumb. This is exactly what I'm trying to point out!"

I sighed. Unless she miraculously forgets all of this, I really done screwed up. I sincerely hope that she's assuming that I was just in a bad mood and not find out that my public personality was all just a façade because I was careless enough to lose control of myself and acted too out of character. "Look. It's not as simple as it sounds. Why don't you just go with the notion that people are not one-dimensional?"

Weiss just groaned and continues to stare at me with her piercing glares of those ice-cold blue eyes. I just stared at her back because I had nothing else on my mind that isn't 'explain that my behavior when someone was around was bullshit and have it end up becoming Beacon's number one gossip and ruin my rep.'

Despite that, it's a good thing we had this conversation, it at least made time go quicker that it should almost be done by now so I could get out of the staring contest that followed.

While we're at it, I suddenly noticed something odd on the landscape on her back. I squinted my eyes and scrutinized at the object and immediately recognized it as another one of those hostile robots. I did not hesitate to aim my pistol and shoot it down in front of her face, startling Weiss into turning back and saw the wave of robots approaching us.

"Couldn't you have warned me?!" she pulled out her rapier and went to her combat stance as she rotated her dust chamber.

"We'll argue later!" I said, aiming at one of those robots then firing at its chest, filling it with blast holes.

As much as I hate it every time something's trying to kill me and ruins the peace, this pretty much saved me from getting Weiss from fully cracking the code, at that point they were less threatening than something that would ruin my reputation that I despise yet still ensure to avoid a fate worse than death.

"How much longer?!" Weiss asked, casting an ice dust on two of those walking tin cans that were a foot of each other, causing them to be frozen and break in the process.

Blasting another robot's head clean off, I ran to the terminal and checked the screen, "Almost there, just hold on for a couple of minutes!"

The two of us held the ground and continued to clear the area of the robots whilst preventing them from ruining the transmission. Thanks to the laser pistol and amount of dusts we were carrying, we had little trouble of getting rid of them since these robots were apparently vulnerable to energy weapons and the right use of dusts. The only thing I had to worry about was managing our ammunition and supplies.

One of the last of the robots tried sweeping the floor, only for me to jump from it and I thrust the Crocea Mors to its head, impaling its face. Weiss meanwhile finished hers by crushing it with her glyphs, squashing them into pulverized pieces of flattened scraps. By this point, the signal was successfully transmitted and the are was clear making it safe for us to contact Beacon.

I wasted no more time to reconnect ourselves back to Doctor Oobleck's channel and notify him of our status and location.

"Hello? Come in. Mr. Arc? Miss Schnee? Is that you?" the doc asked, the transmission was initially full of static but it quickly became clearer.

"It's really us, Doctor," I responded. "Look, we don't have much time to explain all I could say we were shipped into an unknown island and there's plenty of Grimm and those robot things here. Luckily we managed to find a communications tower and used it to receive your signal. I request rescue as soon as possible."

"Well, it's good to hear from you again, it would be a huge blow for us if we lose both of you. Worry not, we'll do our very best to track your location as quickly and efficiently as possible," he said, which was very reassuring. Suddenly a mysterious transmission was suddenly heard from the channel and it wasn't from anyone we're familiar with. "Hold, on I'm receiving feedback from an unknown frequency! Who is this? Identify yourself!"

An unfamiliar voice responded on the frequency. "Ah, that's better. Sorry, but the reception is always so bad all the way out here. I hope you're enjoying your stay on the island. You're the first visitors I've had in, well, you are the first."

"That…voice." Doctor Oobleck muttered, apparently being familiar with the mysterious caller.

"Doctor Oobleck, who is this?" Weiss inquired concernedly on her scroll. I was no less puzzled or disturbed.

"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Dr. Merlot. You don't know me, but I most certainly know who you are. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled you're here. You might be exactly what I need for a very important... experiment."

"Wait…" While I already had a hint of who he was the moment he said his name, I still glanced at the company's sign at the nearest building which has his name on it just to be sure. "Dr. Merlot? As in this Merlot Industries Merlot?!"

"Of course I am the Dr. Merlot. What else am I going to name my own company that I spent years building up with?" he replied. I don't know, something more corporate-sounding name that involves enrichment, I guess?

"I thought you died with your company!" Weiss said to him.

He chuckled sinisterly. "Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated," he remarked, it appears that even formerly-renowned scientists aren't above using clichéd phrases stolen from bad action novels. Go figure. "And it was a mere speed bump on the superhighway of scientific progress. You couldn't possibly imagine the ramifications of my latest research. For such terrific students as yourselves, this should be an easy test, right?"

"So we meet again, Doctor Merlot." Another voice coming from the doctor's (well, our doctor's) comm said, only except it wasn't Doctor Oobleck who spoke but Ozpin himself.

"Ozpin? Or shall I call you Oz like old times, chum?" the evil doctor responded. Weiss and I were shocked, but I wasn't that much surprised considering how Ozpin knows everyone and everyone knows Ozpin at this point. Besides, these shady old men being familiar with each other doesn't sound far-fetched.

"You should have perished in the Mountain Glenn disaster, a tragedy you played no small part in. The world was a much safer place without you."

It looks like I know who to blame for what Mountain Glenn is now, and it made me more desperate to get out of here because if he really is behind the fall of Mountain Glenn then it meant he could do the same to this island and I didn't want to get caught by it.

"You're calling me the reckless one? Sending your students out on an excursion like this?" Merlot retorted. I'd say he's spot on if he wasn't making the Great & Powerful Ozpin look sane more likable by creating mutated Grimm and adding more problems in a world that are already dominated by monsters for whatever senile reason, not to mention, being responsible for Mountain Glenn's destruction if Ozpin is to be believed.

"They're more than a match for your mindless robots," Ozpin argued, it's nice for him to speak for us but I'll be the judge of that. "What you're doing here is wrong, Merlot."

"Trying to make the world a better place is wrong? Say what you will about me, it won't change the fact that you're powerless to stop me."

I fail to see how making a more horrifying version of the leading problem of this would make it a better place. Thousands of these Grimm die every day yet they still keep on growing and outnumbering us and you expect us to think that this will somehow improve the planet's condition?

"You'll botch this somehow. You always do." Ozpin replied.

"Well, let's agree to disagree. I tell you Oz, it has been truly a pleasure catching up, but unfortunately, it's time for me to run. Farewell, old chum."

I was so befuddled that I was prompted to ask Ozpin of the situation, but Weiss beat me to it. "What's going on professor?!"

I could hear him sigh from his side of the channel. "Mr. Arc, Miss Schnee. While we're able to get your transmission, I'm afraid we still haven't got your location. Merlot is using some sort of firewall that it would take some time for us and pinpoint his island and send you out of there. Stay put. In the meantime, search the premises for information about Merlot's current scheme so the authorities would be able to review them before he destroys them. Rescue and backup should arrive shortly after we're able to breach Merlot's firewall."

Explore the islands and check the facility which undoubtedly contains mutated Grimm and advance security measures? I would rather torture myself with school lectures and study for the finals by now. "Please hurry," I told them while keeping a stiff upper lip and trying not to sound like I was pleading.

"We're doing everything we can, Jaune. Just hold on. You will make it through this," Ozpin responded before ending the call.

Weiss and I turned to each other. "You heard him. No point trying to stay on this spot. There's no doubt that they'll just keep sending waves of robots until they know that we're dead. Might as well uncover more of this case." I said.

"I trust that you know what you're doing. Pyrrha can't consider you to be an effective leader for nothing." she said, "So lead the way."

I really can't promise that though, but I have no intention of dying here so she could count on me on that one. She proceeded to accompany me out of the tower and into the facility.

Pursuing an evil scientist in an isolated island, which was only missing an active volcano—I feel like I'm in a bad superhero comic right now. Nothing is ever simple, is it?

 **=o=**

1\. _Hey!_

* * *

The deeper we went, the more disturbing the island was appearing as the sky was growing darker. On the path to Merlot's lab, we found pipes harvesting something from the island's surface as well puddles which is very likely the same substance that was carried by the mutated Grimm.

"Ugh, look at this place. What is Merlot doing here?" I said to Weiss as we were overlooking the area on a slope.

"A refinery, by the looks of it," she answered. "It appears they're gathering the substance that was used to create the mutated Grimm back at Forever Fall."

"So you're telling me that this island contains the stuff that mutated the Grimm. Have you by any chance, heard or studied about this stuff before?"

"Not really, but I suspect that it's one of the rare substances found on certain specific areas on Remnant, this island being one of them."

"Great," I muttered. We were at a disadvantage then. I was fine with this being another indistinct, boring island that just happens to have a corporate establishment, it turned out to be rich in the same liquid that made the world's living nightmares twice as worse, guaranteeing that I will be facing quite a lot of them. I was praying that I would only encounter those one-shot exploding mutant Creeps and not much else, or maybe I should shut up because it's giving my omnipotent tormentors some ideas and make them do the opposite of what I'm begging for.

Looking back at the area, there were puddles of the green liquid on the ground while there were a few Grimm lurking around and some of them are approaching the puddles. "You think those puddles contain the mutagen?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. For all we know, it might be just regular acid or something else. This is a research facility after all. Let's wait and see." Weiss responded, "You should be aware that Mutant Creeps are less bothersome than they look, especially within this distance."

She got that right. Thank goodness for that because I'll be able to save ammo if I were to shoot fragile, two-legged suicide bombers from afar while it satisfies our curiosity, otherwise if it was a Beowolf or a higher-tier Grimm we would be doing our best to keep them away from those.

One of the Creeps went near the puddle and drank of it. Seconds later, I witness it go through its somewhat disturbing transformation process. The Creep made a raucous cry as its eyes and mouth were filled with a green light. Its skin began slightly tearing, revealing a glowing layer. The other Creeps went in drank from a puddle, putting them in the same process. No green spikes yet and their skulls were still the same, probably because their mutations were still in early stages. **[1]**

I was still rather perturbed but I immediately remained calm when I realized that it wasn't that bad and mutant Creeps were elementary compared to its cousins anyway. "I guess we have our answer," I said. It was already a minute after the Creeps started drinking from the puddle. They remained immobile during the transformation, so it was a good opportunity the get rid of them, whether they're fully transformed or not.

I fired my laser pistol at them, almost instantly erupting them into nothing but the same liquid they consumed from. I was careful enough not to hit the pipes, otherwise, they would leak the serum and it might even lure nearby Grimm while giving them free power-up drinks when there are already puddles of them all over the place.

Weiss followed suit and cast a few fireballs from her rapier, helping me clear out the area out of the remaining Creeps that we're unable to retaliate due to being in the middle of their transformation.

Once we were done, we both lowered our weapons. "We should inform Professor Ozpin about this," Weiss said to me. Without any objections, she pulled out her scroll contacted Ozpin.

"Students, have you found something?"

"There appears to be equipment extracting the green serum that was used to create the mutated Grimm, and it's being pumped elsewhere."

"This is also said to be one of the few places that have this stuff," I added.

"This confirms my suspicions. I knew Merlot is on this island for a reason. Keep searching. I want you to follow the pipeline. With any luck, it will lead us right to Dr. Merlot. Try to slow down this sinister operation if you can. By the way, after a long and arduous process, we are finally able to pinpoint you're signal. Your fellow team members are en route to the island and should arrive as soon as possible."

Finally, some relieving news—I never thought I would hear one again. "Will do, just don't take too long," I responded before putting my scroll back to my pocket.

Leaping off from the short edge. We began trailing the pipes to where it was coming from and sabotage anything that would make progress of an evil scientist's twisted plan just so I could complete my mission, letting me pass this year while skipping all of the bullshit studying and sleep peacefully at night knowing that there would be no superpowered Grimm to worry about.

The main facility became visible and we were getting close to it the further we followed the pipeline. On our way, we received a transmission from a friendly voice. "Hellooo! can anyone hear me? Weiss? Jaune?"

"Ruby!" Weiss happily exclaimed at the voice the would normally annoy her, and me to some extent, as if my sisters weren't able to train me into handling hyperactive girls like her. "I can't believe I'm saying this—but it's good to hear from you again!"

"Good to hear you that you're okay, Weiss! Is Jaune taking care of you?"

I felt my cheeks heat up momentarily while Weiss' turned pink and did her best to hide it. She tried to scowl at me to sway any thoughts, but if you ask me, she ended up looking rather adorable when attempting to glare at me while embarrassed, it kind of reminds why I even had a short crush on her when I first looked at her in the eyes—if only her looks match her personality. "Well, he is a tolerable companion—to say the least."

"Umm, what she just said," I replied, enforcing the awkward atmosphere further.

"Are you trying to make Pyrrha jealous, Weiss-cream?" someone said on the line, anyone who's familiar with my friends can already guess who said this because of the way she speaks, so I don't find it necessary for me to tell you who said that.

If you somehow weren't able to recognize this person's by their way of speaking because you may have presumably skipped to this chapter or is just bad at indicating someone through their personality, then let Pyrrha's embarrassed stuttering help you out. "Y-Yang!"

"You stay away from him, Weissy-Dicey!" Nora yelled on her end. "You're not good enough for someone as honorable and caring as Jaune!"

I wouldn't say that I'm above her in terms of morality though. At worse, she's probably in the same league as mine, and even then I still think she's more of a saint compared to I am. At least she's being honest of who she is.

"Does it look like I want to be stuck here with him?" Weiss retorted, yelling at the scroll in front of her.

Ditto, Frosty Flakes. "Don't worry about me, Nora," I told her. That wasn't really a good advice, if anything, they should be worried because their leader is in a grave situation. "This is not the first time where I have to fend for myself remember?" And hopefully, it wouldn't be the last either.

"We know, Jaune. We just couldn't imagine what must be going through right now." Pyrrha responded, and boy, was she right about that one. "The Bullhead we're in to get there just recently launched; we're going as fast as we can so we should be there in just a few minutes!"

"Look, just hurry on there. I am getting increasingly sweaty, tired and dirty and I refuse to die in this state especially on this nightmare of an island!"

"Don't worry, we're coming! Just keep on doing what you're doing. You're doing great from what I've heard." Ruby said.

That put me in a better mood, but I almost forgot that Merlot was still on the same channel as ours. I was beginning to worry that he might be listening. And unfortunately, he was. "Might I remind you that I can hear everything that is being said on this channel?"

"Gah! Who's this?!" Ruby shrieked.

"You must be the baddie who's behind all this!" Yang said. "You better not have harmed our friends!"

He chuckled evilly. "I wished I have already done more than that. Your friends are more stubborn than I anticipated but I should have expected it from the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and a nominee of Vale's Junior Huntsman of The Year."

Oh, come on! Not this again. A mad scientist like you who have been stuck on this island and doing questionable experiments for more than a decade should have been the last person to be in touch of dumb phenomenons such as my misunderstood exploits. I didn't bear any ill-feelings toward this guy despite being a delusional prick whose creations could screw up an already doomed world but after he mentioned that I'll be more than glad to give him an idea what it's like having an ancestral sword on your stomach or what a blast of laser on your face feels like.

"I can remember the other professors at Beacon saying the same thing about you, Merlot, though the word they chose was less kind."

I'm almost thinking the same, except it's involving a little more profanity.

"Ever since you got it in your head that experimenting on Grimm was a good idea," Ozpin once again came in to talk to a former colleague of his. "Your obsession has and will continue to be your downfall."

"The Grimm are a superior species, fascinating in their biology, their unbridled, raw aggression and lack of sentience make them the perfect vessel."

Grimm supremacy, are you fucking kidding me?! Even the White Fang have better justifications and this is a group where most of their target demographic wouldn't buy their shit.

"That line of thought illustrates exactly why you could never be trusted, Merlot." For once, I see something eye-to-eye with the Great & Powerful Ozpin. "I still find it amazing that you survived the disaster in Mountain Glenn, Merlot. Was it sheer luck or part of your master plan?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it wasn't my fault?"

"I believe that you wouldn't take accountability for your actions."

"Admittedly, Mountain Glenn is a bit of a sore spot for me. Decades of hard work, countless research projects, not to mention all of the specimen I'd collected over the year… all lost without a trace."

"Let me get this straight... you're upset that you lost your research?" Ozpin presumed.

"The work done at Merlot Industries was critical in the advancement of artificial intelligence and genetics. Without it, Remnant would still be in the dark ages."

And now, you're making something that would send Remnant back to the dark ages. How ironic, but then again, he's making it pretty obvious that he lacks self-awareness.

"You've missed the point. An entire city was laid to waste. Countless lives were lost. My only question is how much of the damage were you personally responsible for?!"

"Well, how else was I supposed to conduct my research? Our supply of test subjects was running thin."

"And when the Grimm came back, the city's population was driven underground where it was safe. No thanks to Merlot Industries."

"Do you believe things happen for a reason, Oz? I mean, two of your little prodigies practically washed ashore here on my island, and it appears that you are sending more of them."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at," Ozpin responded sternly before turning to us. "Carry on, Mr. Arc and Miss Schnee. As for the others, make yourselves prepared. Merlot is not the type of individual that goes easy on us. Remember your training and expect heavy resistance."

Good thing I have been expecting the worse since the beginning then.

After trailing the pipes for a few minutes, we were able to find what was presumably the laboratory building where all of his operations are being conducted, much to our joy after everything we've done to get this far.

There was a walkway that takes us towards its entrance to the main facility.. We began to move hastily, but we remained prudent, knowing that there was always a threat around every corner. Doctor Merlot liked keeping his establishments secured and he wasn't going to let us inside that easily.

Of course there were security robots waiting for us because on this island, there has to be an obstacle to something as simple as trying to enter a freaking building, otherwise where would be the fun in that? But for anyone who has read my ramblings for long enough, it's already made crystal-clear that I hate certain types of 'fun' and I'm doing my best to avoid them as humanly possible.

I grabbed my pistol and hastily fired at the robots, within less than five shots I've already dispatched at least three of them. Weiss used her glyphs to put the other robots in close proximity then used electric dust to overcharge all of them at once, next thing I know is that some of them simply shut down and fell while the others exploded. I sliced down the ones which were still whole so we could be sure that they're never coming back unless Merlot gets a chance to glue them back to working condition, an opportunity that we're not willing to give.

"If Merlot is going to torment us on this wretched island. He could at least give us a worthy challenge than sending the same pieces of walking scrap-metal he keeps throwing at us."

Please don't give him any ideas, I irritably thought.

When we thought the area was clear and it was safe to press forward, two more robots appeared. These weren't the regular models we fought before, they were painted white and were much larger, enforced by their bulkier appearance. They appear to use Gatling guns rather than the polearms the red androids use.

You just had to say it, didn't you, Ice Queen?

Widening my eyes, I quickly expanded my shield, prompting Weiss to get behind me when we both noticed their guns rotating and firing seconds after.

I blocked the robot's barrage of bullets while moving to the nearest container for cover with Weiss hunkering down behind me. When we got to the container, we waited for them to stop firing. They presumably cannot shoot forever since they would either run out of ammo or their guns would overheat, thankfully the durability of the SDC's containers was used in our favor for once.

Once they stopped firing, I hastily tried to tear them down with my laspistol the same way I tore down the army of robots that tried to kill me previously, but to my dismay—these models apparently have reinforced armor that is able to counter laser fire. While laser pistol is pretty good against both organics and synthetics alike, shields and aura be damned, there are still some things that it cannot penetrate against.

"Dammit," I murmured, reloading my laspistol's clip after using most of it in an attempt to dispatch the Heavy Gunner Androids.

Weiss made her move and tried to use the same trick she did to overload the robots' circuits. It was just as ineffective as it did almost no effect on the robots and they kept moving slowly.

"Well, there's the 'worthy challenge' you wanted. Happy now?!" I yelled under the barrage of gunfire behind the container.

"Oh, I'll consider being careful about what I wish for next time!" she snarled back.

"Good idea, because rich snots like you need to learn how to wish better for things that money can't buy!"

"How about I wish for you to put your leadership skills to good use and make sure this won't be our last conversation!"

"Uhm," I looked on the ground and thought for a solution. While the heavy robots were very durable that even or most effective attacks against the androids don't seem to work—it costed their mobility, being heavies and all, which give me time to think while they move slow enough.

I realized that these models were designed to dispatch enemies that in range, the best way to deal with these things was to get close to them while they do their best to push us back and keep that from happening. So we just need to find a way to temporarily suspend them from their attacks so we are able to take them head-on in melee which was presumably their weakness—they are supposed to be gunners after all.

Thinking for a way that would get them to stop shooting for long enough for us to get close to them from my knowledge I received from watching Team RWBY coordinate in combat. I eventually got a figurative lightbulb light up above my head. "Your wish is my command then. What are your and Ruby's combo-attack called? White Rose?" I asked her.

She looked pretty annoyed at what I just said, but then again, she always was by default. "It's 'Ice Flower', you _dummkopf_! Since when have we ever explicitly referred our attack like that?"

Gods, there she goes again. It feels like no matter what I do or say, I'll still end up pushing her buttons. "What? You don't like white roses?"

"Oh, we do love flowers as much as other girls but we know not to name our attacks like that!"

Says the person whose team has a combo attack named after one of their user's favorite tuna brand, **[2]** but at least they are not combining their names together. "Okay, okay, sorry. Do you remember that Ruby shoots through your glyphs to make a special dust shot?"

She raised a brow in interest. "What are you getting to?"

"If we can't take them down with lasers and dust, then we'll have to use an ice beam that would freeze them long enough for us to get near them and cut them down. These are gunners, they can't take us in a very close range, that's what their red cousins are for."

"That's not actually a bad idea. I recall this working against Torchwick's Paladin. It should work against these robots."

"Then let's not waste any more time."

She rotated her chamber and readied her rapier. "Say the word when you're ready, just don't call it something stupid like what you referred to it earlier or even dare to think about it."

I nodded, I already drew a line from making corny team-attack names anyway. There's just something that just irks me about it.

I noticed that the two robots halted from moving forward and remained stationary, likely because they can't afford to have hostiles get near them even for a few feet. Once their next batch of ammo was out, we rushed out of our cover and faced a few feet away from the gunners.

Weiss summoned a glyph in front of us as I crouched down and aimed my pistol with both of my hands towards one of the two droids behind Weiss's glyph. Last time I checked, lasers and dust work fine together so long as you aren't directly shooting the source, unless you needed improvised explosives as we used back at the ship.

I squeezed the trigger and fired a blast as it went through Weiss' glyph. For a split second, I could notice that the laser was colored light-blue instead of red. The ice beam penetrated the first gunner's right arm before it froze. For good measure, I shot its legs twice while being careful not to shatter them. I proceeded to shoot at the second one, freezing its gun and right hand, then its torso and left leg next.

Holy crap, it worked, I joyfully said to myself. Weiss unsummoned the glyph and stormed towards them. I followed as I unsheathed my sword then shaved off the head of the one of the gunner's, making it fly toward the nearby cliff. Weiss meanwhile, dealt with hers by using her glyph to shatter the other robots into pieces. The walkway towards one of the facilities' entrance was then clear.

"Well, that went better than expected," Weiss remarked, staring at the droids pieces on the ground turning to me. "You may not be as imbecilic as I thought you to be. I think I'm starting to see why your team and my teammates respect you as a leader and a Huntsman."

"Thanks…" I muttered. "I try you know. You're not bad yourself either."

She made a faint blush for a second before shaking it off and going back to the classic Weiss everyone knows and loves. "Now don't get too captivated with my compliment! I still think you're a despicable dunce and you should be treated as such. I haven't forgotten about your recent insolence towards me!"

Of course, I was wondering where was her icy-demeanor hiding during this. She's really insulting me that much, I think it's becoming kinda cute and less damaging the more badmouths me. I swear, if I ever had a lien every time I heard her call somebody an idiot or something synonymous to it since day one—I would be rivaling her family's company in terms of worth. I figured that this day alone was enough to purchase this whole shithole of an island.

"Are you really going to act like a tsundere at best every time I'm stuck with you?" I huffed. Her being pleasant in one second and verbally abusing me in another was really giving me the impression.

"Oh, you must have the nerve to call me tha…!" she grumbled before looking perplexed and stopping. "What's a 'tsundere'?"

I sneered at her obliviousness. "Why a tsundere is a perfect, proper and ideal lady that is wanted by men and envied by women," I answered sarcastically.

I prepared for her to be offended by that remark and insult me back. But to my surprise, she actually took that as a compliment. "Are you trying to flatter me now, Jaune?" she answered smugly and then spoke in a proud manner. "If that's the case, then maybe I am a 'tsundere', and I will continue to act like it because it is what I am. I'm glad to know that even a blockhead like you could acknowledge that."

I did my best to hold my laughter with all the self-control I could muster. I didn't expect her to actually for fall that. It doesn't even sound like she's snarking back unless she's trying to screw with me. I hope she doesn't get too pissed when she finds out what it actually means. **[3]** It's like the nicest thing I ever called her especially if you compare it to the other things I labeled her as. The 'dere' part in that implies that there was still hope for her.

"Right…" I muttered, still in disbelief with her reaction. "Let's just not waste any more time and get in."

She nodded as we both went across the walkway to finally get into Doctor Merlot's lair.

 **=o=**

1\. _The length of the mutated Grimm's transformation depends on the specimen's size and the complexity of their biology, which explains why most of the Mutated Grimm were Creeps as they are much more easier and quicker to mutate._

2\. _He was referring to 'Bumblebee Tuna', since Blake and Yang's combo is named 'Bumblebee', despite it having its name because bees contain the colors black and yellow, representing Blake and Yang respectively. Coincidentally, Yang also nicknamed her motorcycle as 'Bumblebee' but she has said to have given it long before Beacon._

3. _The term actually meant to describe a person—usually young females—who is considered to be pleasant and caring (dere) beneath a sour exterior (tsun). It is usually used in Mistrali pop culture. When I looked up the actual definition myself, I don't know whether to feel insulted or flattered._

* * *

When we entered Merlot's facility, we found ourselves in a dark, almost pitch-black room. I turned on my scroll's flashlight and saw that we were in some sort of storage room where barrels of the serum were shelved. If I didn't know any better I would have smashed everything here to lessen Merlot's supply of mutagen, but I was warned that the serum attracts Grimm as if it was negative emotion and that we were advised to lessen Grimm presence first before doing so.

I called over Ozpin for our status update, "Headmaster, we're finally in."

"Good. I want you to locate Dr. Merlot and put him in custody while you wait for rescue and reinforcements which should arrive shortly. Search for a map or anything that would provide us insights into the facility's layout to make the navigation of that building less troubling. Destroy anything that progresses Merlot's experiment if necessary, but be careful, while we are aware of what these things could do, we don't know everything about them. Above all, be wary of his security. Take care," he responded.

We proceeded to skip this room since there wasn't much to do, and we still have some things to do first before blindly destroying every equipment we see.

When we exited the storage room, lights suddenly turned on by itself, revealing a corridor filled white walls with screens while the floor was black and tiled hexagonally. The screens showing Doctor Merlot's face.

This was the first time we saw what he looked like since his profile icon on the communications channel was blank. Here, he is revealed to have medium-gray hair with a mustache and beard, with eyebrows that were no less thick. What was the most disturbing part about him was his left cybernetic eye which was glowing red. Apart from that, he appears to be wearing a scientist's gown, overall, giving in the appearance of the evil scientist he was.

"Greetings, and welcome to Merlot Industries, where we're building a better tomorrow—today!" Merlot on the screen spoke.

We assumed the screens were playing pre-recorded footage that was played every time someone visits, so we ignored them for now and wander around the facility until we found something.

"Here at Merlot Industries, we take pride in innovation. Together, with your help... and a little of your special spark, we will build a better tomorrow!"

"For you, Merlot, there won't be any tomorrow to 'restore'." Ozpin sternly responded to the messages from our scroll's speakers.

We later would find ourselves in the atrium, according to the label on the wall. There were a few boxes scattered around inside the facility, most of them were empty though, however, some of them contained a few dust shards and some sellable items that could fill my pockets with lien after taking them to the pawnshop.

After walking throughout the hall for a couple of minutes, we can't help but notice the facility being empty containing almost nothing but the same screens on every wall. All we could do was keep moving forward.

"This place looks abandoned, where is everyone?" Weiss asked. I guess that it was only Merlot, his metal slaves and some Grimm is everything we're up against. Not a single soul appears to be working for him, probably because he didn't need them and no one was insane enough to be under his wing. I wouldn't be surprised if he did purge his employees.

"Making yourselves at home, I see?" Merlot said in a screen, except this one clearly wasn't pre-recorded and he was looking directly at us, startling me for a second. "I want my guests to feel welcome, but unfortunately, my security team rarely feels the same. Still, there's a good reason why they behave that particular way to you."

There was a security camera placed near the screen. I wasted no time and replied by firing at the security camera, detaching it from the wall then shatter to the floor.

"Please remain from vandalizing the security cameras so we will be able to properly monitor our visitors and employees for the sake of their security and safety."

"Sorry, I get pretty shy in front of camera!" I replied as I shot the screen as well. For the sake of our security and safety, my ass.

Turning away from the broken screen that now has a hole in it, a turret came out from the ceiling. I quickly expanded my shield and blocked the gunfire as Weiss ducked behind and cast ice shards toward the turret until it was frozen. It then fell unto ground before shattering in pieces.

More of the red robots appeared. We fell back as I threw some ice dusts on the floor, creating a puddle of ice. A few of the robots slipped and fell to the ground as I finished them off by stabbing them as they slide, Weiss dealt with the others by stunning them with electric dusts then pushing them away to a wall where they shatter, one of the screens even falling to one of them for an added insult.

We noticed a nearby elevator (or 'lift' as they're called by Valish natives) opened we noticed after dispatching the androids. We quickly rushed to it and activated it before more security androids arrive to make our day harder.

The elevator's doors closed and it descended to the lower levels. The elevator was shaky and fast that you could easily mistake that it was crashing. It was a miracle that neither of us lost balance and fell, not even Weiss who was wearing heels. Thankfully, it was very brief but I wonder how many lawsuits this company used to receive from visitors and employees for their uncomfortable elevators. **[1]**

When it finally opened, we were greeted with a sight of a large room filled with tanks containing and harvesting the serum from the island's soil.

"Here before you are Stage 2 processing tanks," Merlot announced on the laboratory's P.A.

The room was leaking of Scavers and some Creeps that appeared to have dug out from the earth, a few of them were even mutated. They were trying to scratch the tanks of the serum that they were so attracted to, but their attention turned to us once we arrived.

It was pretty tempting to destroy the tanks, but until I was sure that the Grimm would stop leaking, it wouldn't be practical, it would only just give them free mutations. This wouldn't be so bad if all of them were just Creeps since we would only just stand back and let the fireworks happen, but there were also Scavers around the area, and we weren't sure what a large mutated Grimm rat exactly does, so it would be better to study them with one of the two Mutated Scavers present there. The military was going blow up this island once we're out of here anyway, besides I don't want to become an even worse Grimm magnet by having the serum spilled on my clothes, my shoes a have already stepped on enough of them.

The regular Creeps dug near to us, Weiss and I did the pleasure of slashing and stabbing them to oblivion. The mutated ones followed—Weiss and I sprung back and used our respective range attacks, creating green explosions between us.

The Scavers charged towards us, I fired my laser pistol at those overgrown rodents because I am not taking the chance of them poisoning me. They were still one of the weakest common Grimm so it wasn't much trouble getting rid of them, what worried me was the Mutated Scavers since this was our first encounter with them. They were only two and they don't seem to be more threatening than a Mutated Creep but we still don't know what mutations they were given aside from their new appearance and slightly increased size.

"Ugh, why do these rats have to mutate when I already loathe their normal forms?" Weiss grimaced, repulsed at the sight of her least favorite Grimm specimen and the animal it was based on.

"Probably because regular Scavs' weren't bad enough for him. Whatever these things would bring, it obviously won't be good." I said as I readied my gun. "Get ready. We wouldn't know until we see what happens after I damage them."

I fired at one of them. Much like the regular Scavers, they are just as fragile, going down in one or two hits. But it turned out, it actually wasn't a good move because killing a single Mutated Scaver caused it to collapse and multiply to a swarm of miniature glowing rodents that were now racing toward me.

"Oh, rats!" I panicked as I hastily holstered my gun and grabbed Weiss' hand before making a run from them.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Weiss asked, blushing at me abruptly holding her hand as we were both chased by the swarm.

"Saving our butts from being poisoned! Don't worry, Weiss, holding hands does not mean we're in a relationship—only fans of cheap rom-coms believe that!" I quipped in hopes of coping with this madness.

Once we were far enough, yet the swarm was quickly catching up to us, Weiss made a proposal. "Let me go, I have an idea." I looked at her for a moment complying, hoping that she knows what she is doing. "You might want to hold on."

Weiss then summoned a glyph for us each to launch us to the air before the swarm of Scavers managed to reach us. Weiss summoned another couple of glyphs to keep us elevated in midair, I balanced myself on it glyph as Weiss casts a fireball burning the swarm and the three-feet radius around it, even igniting the nearby Mutated Scaver which eventually burned down along the swarm that spawned from it.

She then casted ice dust to extinguish the fire below us, making it safe to put us down. "Gods, I hate those things," she remarked.

I pushed myself up and saw that the area was clear of Grimm… for now. One of the screens flickered on with another announcement from Merlot. "Thank you for getting rid of those pests. I would have sent my androids to dispatch them, but this saves me trouble. This way please." he said, opening another elevator.

"Is it just me, or is he a little too welcoming?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

I can sense that there was something sinister that he has stored for us, but we had nowhere else to go so there was nothing else we could do but move forward and prepare for the worst. "Oh, he is definitely not sending us to a trap."

"It's either that or facing an endless horde of robots upstairs." she said as we both headed to the elevators."

"Might want to warn the others about the mutant Scavers." I said, taking out my scroll. There would have been huge trouble if it wasn't for Weiss fire dusts, and I have to make sure the others were prepared to handle them, otherwise, it might take them longer to get here. "Professor, you might want to tell the others to watch out for Mutant Scavers. They multiply to a swarm of small rodents once you kill one. Tell them to have some fire dusts ready."

"Duly noted. Thank you for the warning, Mr. Arc. The mutated Grimm are a rather new adversary for us that every piece of information. Continue your expedition and notify us if you found a new threat. Your team should be arriving any minute now." Ozpin responded. The others better get here shortly, I thought. Because this mission was getting worse by the minute.

I braced myself for another bumpy elevator ride and boy was I right. I swear, if it didn't last for less than five seconds I would be puking on the floor and Weiss would nag me as long as we're stuck with each other. I know that Merlot hasn't gotten any visitors until we came along, but couldn't he fix this crap in his spare time?

The door opened to a hallway to the next section. We were greeted by more screens of Merlot. "Here we have the Engineering Wing—the so-called 'brains' of the operation if you're not counting my own intellect," he said before laughing at himself.

I don't think anyone is counting on that, you've pretty much lost your mind at this point.

"Don't be so timid. There aren't any traps here… yet." he continued before the screen transitioned back to showing just his company's logo.

"Thanks for the heads-up," I said dryly.

"Showing gratitude to the man that's trying to kill us now, huh?" Weiss snidely replied.

"Old geezer needed some compliments after being alone on this dumpster-fire for so long. Your parents told you to respect the elderly, didn't he?"

"How thoughtful of you. And yes, in fact, I've shown more respect toward the elderly than what my father expected from me."

"Good to know you sympathize with your fellow white-hairs."

"I take it you don't do the same, judging on that remark."

"Oh, I didn't mean any offense in that, it's just that you can be a grumpy old lady sometimes."

"That only shows how I'm too mature for the likes of you."

"Right then, grandma," I replied, making her roll her eyes out of annoyance.

We pressed forth, they'll be time for bantering later, and I wasn't going to make this trip longer by stalling, although it did assure me the others are going arrive any moment now.

The engineering wing was full of computer terminals and workbenches. Aside from that, there wasn't much to make out for it other than I took some parts that may find to be useful—particularly dusts and weapon upgrades.

It didn't take long for us to find a row of computers with a terminal in the middle of it. We concluded that this where they store their data and information.

"That's a lot of computers," I remarked, I felt like I was in a room of a space station that needed several supercomputers and a lot of processors and bandwidth to get their operations working. **[2]**

"We appear to be in some sort of data processing center," Weiss uttered. "We should be able to gain access to every info we needed for this mission."

She headed to the terminal and booted it on, only to be greeted with a screen asking for a password to gain access to it. "Ugh, of course, it's encrypted."

Remembering the password I used on the communications tower, it could work on here but it was also just as likely that it might now work because not every computer in the facility uses the same password, but the one I got apparently was an admin code so it was worth a try.

"Let me see if this could work," I said. Weiss moved aside before I typed in 'Lusus Naturae'. I was prepared to receive a text saying that it was the wrong password however it managed to work again. "Would you look at that."

Weiss breathes out. "Thank Gods for your compulsive scavenging then and whoever wrote that note."

I know, right? It feels like I'm at Their mercy at the moment.

Browsing through the terminal's contents, I navigated through an index containing records of the company and the facility itself. I've managed to find a document containing a map that not only covers the very laboratory we were at but the rest of the island as well. It has everything we needed to navigate the area and it could help the others when they arrived. I quickly sent it to our CCT server, the computer estimates the upload to be completed after five minutes. Well, it does contain legends, blueprints and additional information about the island rather than just showing you the layout, so the file itself was bigger than expected.

While waiting for the computer to upload the map, in the meantime, I decided to check out other things on the computer for anything else that could be some help to us.

What got my attention was a folder named 'Projects,' I checked it to see if there was anything that could tell me about his current experiments on the mutating Grimm and what the evil plan he has used for them. Entering the folder, I saw several more folders containing projects that were either labeled as 'Cancelled', 'Failed' and 'On Hold', but what stood out that wasn't labeled as any of those was the most recent folder on the very top called 'Project: Grimm Eclipse'. Okay, could he have thought for a better name? It sounded like a title for a mediocre video game.

It was without a doubt that it concerns the Grimm mutations, so I was about to enter the folder the moment I realized what it was. But before I was able to go further, Merlot was able to catch up with what we're doing.

"Ugh, I should have expected this. The moment I found out that you somehow managed to gain access to my network, I feared that you might be able to leak information critical to my experiment." Merlot grumbled, "Since you children are so curious about my works, allow me to introduce one of my finest creations."

Weiss and I readied our weapons for our next adversary. Loud metallic stomps were heard from the nearby Manufacturing Wing. We quickly turned toward it and saw a silhouette leaped toward us. It revealed itself to be a silver, twelve-foot robot clad in armor that appeared to be thicker than the ones carried by the android gunners, it was wielding a war-hammer in its right hand and a tower shield in the other.

This is going to be one tough nut to crack, I thought.

"Behold, the 'Dust-Immune Prototype Securidroid & Hostile-Intercepting Terminator' or simply called 'The Terminator' in short. Now, I would have changed the name because it was apparently trademarked, but that's not relevant now, is it? As the name suggests, this machine is immune to all sorts of dust attacks, so forget about ever trying your clever abilities, Miss Schnee." **[3]**

"This is not good..." Weiss winced. I was about as terrified as her, this robot already appeared threatening enough and it was made worse when we heard that it was resistant to any form of dusts. I know I don't over-rely on dust in the first place, but it was still useful in making fights easier. I just needed to find a way to bring this down and I didn't expect it to be a walk in the park, seeing how this was one of Merlot's finer creations.

"I've managed to create the design before that fool Polendina could copy it. The Kingdoms would have done everything they could get to their hands on it if I had released it to the public, but I thought it was better off to get rid of pests who attempt to ruin my vision. I've always wanted to use it against Huntsmen, now it's my chance!" Merlot finished, now prompting the Terminator to swing its hammer to the floor.

Weiss and I leaped back as the floor shook from the thud. I tried to fire a few laser blasts on it but it was able to deflect them with its shield. Weiss bolted towards its torso and spun around as she tries to damage it, only to make a scratch out of it at best. The Terminator darted back and tried to swing the hammer at her vertically as she was still in midair, but Weiss quickly managed to quickly elevate herself to the ceiling and push herself back at the ground again.

The Terminator raised its hammer to swing it, Weiss summoned a large glyph it an attempt to block it and maybe even knock it back, only for it to be broken by the hammer. Weiss made a slight painful grunt and dashed back to avoid the hammer. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

It looked like we need to find a weak spot or this robot isn't going anywhere because it has more protection than a sacred cow with overzealous worshippers. If Professor Peach was able to see this stupid thing, she is going to roll on the floor so hard, her goggles will break.

The Terminator began swinging its large hammer around vertically, I barely managed to duck it while Weiss used a glyph to jump from it, she summoned another glyph to launched herself towards it, only for her to stop when it starts facing its shield at her, causing her to land it on her feet and flip back to the ground.

With the Terminator facing Weiss, it was now open on the other side. I aimed at its head and fired a shot. While it did make some damage, it appears that it has head protection as well. The shot managed to anger to it which made it shove its shield towards me before it tries to hammer Weiss with its weapon, I had to roll back and keep a distance just to be safe.

While it was tougher than any robot we face, it was so noticeably slow that Weiss managed to dash near below it as she dodged the strike from the hammer. It appears as if she doesn't want to believe that it was fully dust-resistant, so after scraping its leg a few times, she tries to plant an ice puddle below it to see if it might slip. It didn't work, a single stomp from the robot's foot was enough to shatter and break the solid puddle on the floor. Well, that's a way to demonstrate its anti-dust features. He really did think of everything, I'll give that evil old coot credit for actually managing to counter dust and I really hate it.

The robot kicked Weiss back, throwing her to the wall of computers, slightly damaging it and causing the upload (which was almost complete) to stop for a second before continuing. That was close, it almost gave me a heart attack and it would have been problematic for us to lose that map. I'm pretty sure Merlot doesn't want to destroy his own data unless he has a backup somewhere.

Weiss appeared to be fine, unfortunately, the damage absorbed a lot of her aura that she wouldn't be able to use her semblance as much. This robot's anti-dust features were really getting the best of her. She'll be okay, she'll just have to suppress her penchant of abusing glyphs during combat.

What's taking the others so long? If there was a situation where we need both of our team's combined strengths, now was a perfect time. Since they should arrive within a few minutes, I was thinking that we stall this thing for long enough until they came for our rescue, but Merlot was pretty determined to destroy us with this 'fuck you dust users machine' and we'd be dead or out of aura by then, so I wasn't going to risk it.

"Stupid anti-dust, I fought a foe like this before, this is not supposed to as hard as it is!" Weiss bellowed, moving at my distance which was several feet away from the Terminator's range at the moment. "Any ideas?"

I looked at the Terminator to study its design but it was also when it began to charge at us with its shield on the front and we had to quickly dodge to the side away from each other.

Now that it was on the other side of the room and was facing backward, I had a brief moment to discover that—like a knight's plate armor, it wasn't doesn't fully cover the wearer's body, some parts of its arms and especially its thighs were the most noticeable, with the latter being the least protected. Reinforced armor plating aside, it's pretty obvious that it's vulnerable to normal attacks.

"We hit it where it hurts!" I declared, giving my sword a twirl. "The robot has some gaps in its armor, we just need to get near them!"

The Terminator then began to leap with its hammers raised. Weiss and I hastily spread out to get away from its attack radius. The second it smashed the ground, we both leaped to avoid the shockwave caused by the impact, Weiss mounts the hammer and runs up to the Terminators right arm and slices its open elbow pit then slashed through the next, meanwhile, I ran towards below it and slashed the back of its thigh. Sparks were coming out, telling us that we were able to damage it.

It then slammed its tower shield on the ground, causing me to fall at my bottom. I quickly crawled back to keep a distance away from one of its upcoming attacks. Weiss jumped to a wall and grabbed it as she summoned a glyph that launched her toward The Terminator's neck in an attempt to slice it. However, it swung its hammer and managed to hit her to the ground, with her aura almost shattering.

"Weiss!" I was so alarmed by her getting hit, I didn't realize that the Terminator shoved its shield and knocked me back for a few feet until it was too late.

Weiss was struggling to push herself from ground, having only a few of her aura left that one more successful strike would mean the end of her, but I still have plenty of mine left so I was able to recover and ran toward her as the Terminator was about to deliver another blow in an attempt to finally kill her.

I hurriedly expanded my shield and ran to Weiss' front; I infused my own shield with as much of my own aura as I could as I block off the robot's hammer. I was slightly pushed by its strength, but I did my best to stubbornly push back to give Weiss enough to time to recover and get her rich heiress butt out of there. I groaned as my arms continue to wrestle the Terminator's weapon, struggling even with the aid of my own aura. I knew I shouldn't have half-assed my own workout and lifted more weights.

Weiss saw me pushing back the robot to save her from getting crushed. Instead of moving away as I expected her to, she abruptly took my laser pistol from my holster after getting up—much to my shock and bewilderment. I was about to ask her what the hell was she doing, that is until I saw her aim towards its unarmored thighs and fired a couple of blasts, making the robot flinch back and pulled away its hammer.

It was now my chance to strike back. Taking a few breaths, I folded my shield and put it at my belt and stormed toward the Terminator and leaped to its upper body. I held its shoulder with my left hand as I thrust my sword to its neck repeatedly. The Terminator tried to shake me off and swing its hammer repeatedly, but I was out of its range and held on tight.

To finally top it off, I finally sliced off the neck and jumped away as it fell on its back, making a loud thud across the room with its metal body.

I panted as I went to the computer's monitor and saw that the upload was complete. That's another android down and another objective completed. Good freaking riddance. This mission was getting dangerously ridiculous that if this keeps up and we're still stuck with our supplies exhausting, it would be the end of us.

Weiss walked toward, she was holding her side was somewhat stumbling. She tossed me my gun as I caught by its warm barrel that was currently cooling down. "Not a fan of firearms myself, but I'd say this one pretty neat. Atlesian tech, is it not?"

"Thanks, I'm proud of it too. Not gonna lie, you guys make the best stuff." I said, giving a few twirls before holstering it. Got to thinking, I used my gun too many times in this mission that I was running short of laser ammo. Better prepare myself into selling my loot so I could have money to buy more then.

I took my scroll and notified Ozpin. After dealing with this specialized elite robot, it was best to get out of this as soon as possible, I have lost count on how many robots I killed since arriving on this island. "Professor Ozpin, I got you your map."

"Yes, I know. I have now begun scrutinizing it. Excellent job, students." Ozpin answered, "I also heard that Merlot sent an elite anti-dust android if so, have you been able to handle it yet?"

"We did. It wasn't easy, but let's just say Weiss is free to use most of her spells again." I said, looking at Weiss, who just rolled her eyes at that quip but doesn't seem to be offended. Understandable, there were worse things to worry about.

"How? Just how?" Merlot's voice bellowed on the scroll channel. "I worked years on that machine to protect my work from puny Huntsmen such as yourself. To see it defeated by a couple of school children and now my information getting leaked. How are you so determined to get this far? I have underestimated you rascals, you turn out to be more trouble then you're worth."

Yeah, well, I'm not enjoying this either. Maybe, you shouldn't have trapped us in that crate and send us here, we wouldn't have been determined to screw up your facility in an effort to leave.

"We have the location of your island and evidence of your experiments. Your safe haven will be bombarded once my students have reached safety. You've already lost, Merlot. Let my students go and surrender yourself, maybe you'll find yourself at the mercy of the authorities." Ozpin responded to him. Listening closely I could hear him take a sip from his mug—like he always does.

"Absolutely not! I refuse to let myself get captured after watching years of hard work simply get wasted by children! If this ought to be my downfall, then I am taking your two precious prodigies with me! Bring me your worst, I will be waiting."

Of course, being absolutely insane that he still chooses not to give up, abandoning all reason and logic when he is inevitably screwed. I really can't wait to finally meet this guy face to face for all the trouble he put me. He has been giving me the motivation to capture him when all I wanted was to finish the job so I could take the reward, leave and prepare my vacation plans when the school year is over.

"Still as stubborn as always. This path has led to your undoing before, it will lead you to it again." Ozpin sighed before shifting his attention to us. "Mr. Arc, Miss Schnee. Your teammates are now deployed on the island and are heading to your position. Judging by your aura levels, take a short break as you wait for them to arrive. You're doing quite well, keep it up. You're guaranteed to pass this year."

I took a huge breath and sat at the wall of computers, with Weiss following beside me. If the next room is going to be as exciting as this, then we need to be in better condition and let our auras regenerate first. We just need to keep a lookout for another wave of Securidroids unless Merlot is saving them for later instead of using them to attack us while one us has wavered.

 **=o=**

1. _Surprisingly, none. The laboratory's elevators were said to be stable when the company was still active. The lack of maintenance over the years may probably be the reason why the elevator performed that way._

2\. _Jaune was, of course, referring to fictional space stations from sci-fi media. As of this writing, space travel is still impossible as there is still yet a solution to maintain the powers of dust after they leave the planet's atmosphere._

3\. _While anti-dust technology wasn't exactly new at the time_ — _in fact, it has been around years prior—it was rare, expensive and barely reliable. Over the years, it would become increasingly common, albeit slowly due to nobody being able to salvage Merlot's anti-dust tech and reverse-engineer them, thus putting its research in a breakthrough. If things have gone differently, Merlot's invention would have pioneered anti-dust tech and it would have been mastered years earlier._

* * *

Few minutes since we defeated the anti-dust droid, we have been staring at the wall, and occasionally the ceiling, rarely making eye contact with each other. I decided to break the silence and complement her into helping me killing the robot—the same time when she decided to also open her mouth.

"Hey, you did pretty great back—"

"You know, I really should thank—"

We both flushed and looked away at each other, still contemplating on the fact that we are getting cozy to each other because it all started when we argued over dust ownership.

After a moment of awkward silence, I turned my head back to her. "You were saying?"

"I want to thank you for defending me when I faltered. I barely had enough aura left to protect me from another strike," she said to me rather warmly, contrasting her usually cold demeanor since she was in a good mood.

"I didn't expect you'd show some gratitude." I smugly replied.

She pouted at me over the remark. "Of course I would. Imagine almost dying and not thanking your lifesaver at least once. I know I'm not exactly the most affable person around but at least I'm not that ungrateful."

I still don't think I deserved to be thanked for doing something that we are supposed to do as a Huntsman. I mean, we'll be saving each other a lot. "Aren't our lives always in danger ever since we chose to become Huntsmen?"

"Gods, you really are an idiot. Put yourself in a near-death experience and maybe you'll understand."

Been there way too many times, I'm afraid. "Well, I have a reputation to uphold. It's not like I'm actually being selfless or anything." I said rather insincerely despite the volume of truth, that way she wouldn't believe it.

"Keep telling yourself that," she sneered.

Trust me, I would definitely will.

"So, what do you want me to say? Tall, blond and scraggly at your service?" I asked.

"That's still better than your shallow attempts on denying the fact that you just saved me, even if it sounds stupidly cheesy."

I made a faint chuckle. "You know, Weiss, with that smart mouth of yours, you'd fit right into my family."

"I don't know what you're exactly implying with that, but I can't imagine myself sharing your last name," she remarked. That I could agree with. While she sorta has the attitude, I couldn't imagine her being in the same family as mine either. "Can you tell me about them though? I'm rather curious, I've heard about them before, I even read about some of your ancestors."

"Well, everyone knows my father, Caiaphas, a Huntsman that was so renowned for his skills that the United Councils Committee made him a Commissar; my mother was some country girl that turned into some religious symbol and became some sort of paladin. Together, they did their best to make the world a safer place to live in and wipe off stains in the world's map, then they decided to marry, have eight kids and tone-down their work so they could keep raising and looking after us. Not to mention, both of them are where all of our sarcasm came from, we like to think that their quipping is what actually got them married in the first place." I chuckled, "Anyway, they left some pretty big shoes for me to fill."

"I can relate to that, upholding a family's legacy is never easy," she sympathetically remarked, "What about your siblings? I have a couple of siblings myself, but I can't imagine living with seven of them while they all apparently inherit their parents' sarcasm".

"I guess you know who to blame for all the quips I threw at you," I sneered. "To put it simply, my eldest sister is a sapphic egghead who does all of our homework, the others are a seamstress who once murdered a Beringel over fabric; **[1]** a tree-hugging hippie; a gun-toting bounty hunter; a grunge fan who bullies me but is also my best friend and lastly; twins that are pop-stars that also has my parents' training. I'm the youngest and the only son, you do the math."

"Sounds like a wild household, and I thought the three of us were complicated."

I took my turn to ask. "What can you tell me about yours then?"

"To start, there's Winter, my elder sister who I look up to since I was little. She brave, strong and wise. She would have made a better heiress than I did."

I was rather surprised by Weiss displaying humility when I have known to her to be a usually pompous, cold and arrogant brat, but now I find myself becoming sympathetic to her.

Her tone noticeably becomes more downtrodden. "But she refused the position—even if it did suit her, preferring to work for the military instead, much to my father's disappointment. Now I'm trying my best to be something like her, but thankfully she's willing to help me, even mentoring me a few times," she said, cheering up. It's nice to see that Weiss has a role-model of her own, seeing people siblings guide their younger siblings always puts a smile on my face. "Then there's my brother, Whitley. In all honesty, I can't really talk much about him since we aren't really close. I don't believe that he's even fond of me. Nonetheless, he's still my brother, and whatever he is up to, it was my duty to look after him, and sometimes he may even help me out in return."

"That's siblings for you; sometimes they help you, sometimes they don't," I said.

"That's true."

We sat there for another couple of minutes when suddenly, a distinct voice belonging to a hammer-wielding teammate of mine was heard across the room, making both of us stand. They were finally here.

"Ugh, those elevators make me want to me barf!"

"I wonder what Jaune must have felt when riding those."

Yang, I can hear you, but yeah, those elevators suck; can't really blame Nora.

"Weiss! Jaune! Are you there?" Ruby called.

"Might want to tone it down, the androids and Grimm might be able to sense us," Blake said.

"The area seems clear to me," Ren replied.

"The professor said that they were last seen on this wing, they should be around here," Pyrrha stated.

Shortly after, the six of them stepped into the data-processing room and found us. "Weiss! Jaune!" Ruby promptly dashed in with her semblance and within a flash, she was now hugging both of us.

"Not too hard! I'm still trying to recover." Weiss told her.

"Oh, sorry!" Ruby apologized as she let go of us and stepped back.

Pyrrha walked up to me and smiled. "Glad to see that you're okay, Jaune. I knew he wouldn't be able to break you that easily."

"The journey here took some sweat, but I wasn't going to let him get to me that easily." I boasted, putting my hero face on.

"Of course, you wouldn't. You're not going to let that evil scientist get what he wants, now would you?" Nora inquired.

"Yeah, foiling bad guy's plan is all in a day's work for me," I said, slightly giving an impression of some sort of superhero.

"That's our leader!" she chirped up.

"Good to see you two alive and well, Ice-queen and Bike-Stealer," Yang said.

I faintly narrowed my eyes at her. "I thought we agreed that you'd stop calling me that, Pie-face."

"Hey, I'm sorry, but your indiscriminate yoinking is what got you here. Not that I'm complaining, you two are still alive and you're able to lead us to find Doctor Badguy's lair." she defended.

"Excuse me, I do not steal indiscriminately! I only take from our enemies and stuff that no one owns anymore!" I agitatedly corrected.

"Sure, whatever."

I'm getting called out by someone who has a record of several offenses and a lot of misdemeanors that she got the worst punishment last month. What has my life become?

Pyrrha held my shoulder. "Jaune, maybe you should start being more careful with your looting. I was really worried on what might have happened when you were abducted."

"Trust me, I think I've already learned my lesson." I hesitantly nodded.

"I hope it's worth the wait, Fearless Leader! I'm really sorry that we weren't able to save you before, we knew we could have done something." Nora shamefully apologized.

"Hey, it's okay, Nora, don't worry about it. What matters now is that you're here and I can't be any more happy than that," I reassured as I gave her the encouraging words like the good leader they thought me as. "Now, we can finish this mission together."

"So, I heard that you two fought a large anti-dust robot," Yang said, "Are there any more of them?"

"I think he only has one model for it… hopefully," Weiss answered.

"That sucks. I would have loved to fight it, should have waited for me," She disappointedly muttered.

"Trust me, if we expected something like that, I would have left it to you. Those things almost killed me you know!" Weiss replied.

"…And it should have!" Merlot bursted. A screen suddenly flashed open on the room, revealing a live camera of his portrait.

"Would you mind? The grownups are talking," I sneered at him.

"Hey! I thought I was the one who's supposed to make the wisecracks here." Yang remarked.

You're not the only smart-mouthed blonde here, Yang. "Mind if we share the role then?"

Merlot then started speaking, "How precocious. I just want to let you know that my ambitions aren't the only thing that is going to be destroyed this day! Now that your whole team is here, you can all die toge—!" His feed abruptly ended after Pyrrha fired a single round to the screen.

"Good job, Pyrrha," I said as she gives me a nodding smile.

Ozpin began speaking through our scrolls. "Students, I'm glad to see that you've finally reunited, but let's not waste any time now. According to the map that was sent to me, it appears that the facility contains a self-destruct sequence that Merlot would be able to trigger as a last-resort option."

Self-Destruct?! Please, tell me you're joking, Ozpin!

"You can use the map yourself in this channel. Merlot's workplace is up ahead. I suggest you advance immediately." he said before ending his call.

"I think I got all the aura I need. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Weiss said.

"Alright, everybody, let's move out! Let's give this evil doctor the taste of his own medicine!" Ruby said.

"Please don't tell me you're planning on mutating him." I quipped.

"Don't worry, the mutagens will probably just kill him," Weiss assured. "And yes, I'm aware of the metaphor."

We then all proceeded to the Manufacturing Wing. I had my sword prepared for the worst of Merlot since this is basically the final stage of the mission. We didn't know what type of mutant Grimm we had to face next.

"Team, be warned that there's also an android assembly and a confinement of Grimm on the way there! Do not forget that we need Merlot alive so that he can be questioned for his crimes. A Bullhead will be waiting for you at the landing pad near his workshop. Remember that prudence is of the essence!"

Just what I was afraid of.

As we went further into the manufacturing wing, we began to wonder where are all the robots and Grimm at when Merlot was preparing to destroy us. We arrived on a three-way junction, with the left path leading to the android assembly being guarded by an army of robots, with expendable red androids on the front and four heavy gunners on the back; The other path leading to the biological lab which was blocked by Mutated Grimm—mostly consisting of Mutated Creeps with a couple of Mutated Beos and for the first time—a single Mutant Ursa.

Oh, crap, this is going to be one hell of a party. This place is going to be a mess once we're done, I told myself.

"Oh-ho! This is going to be a whole lot of fun!" Yang said, readying her weapons, along with everybody. Team RWBY was facing the Grimm while Team JNPR was focusing on the robots on the other side. I took a deep breath as think for a way to defeat both of them without any casualties from our side.

"You still have the EMPs, don't you, Ren?" Nora asked.

"Of course," he said,

"Thank Gods for that," I puffed, I wouldn't know what to do without them. "Give 'em some blue screens."

Ren threw the EMP grenades and disabled the red androids, the gunners were stunned for a few seconds or so but it appears as if their circuits are also protected so they were able to recover quickly from the EMPs. Nora charged and smashed away all the overloaded androids, some of them being thrown to the heavies as they attempt to fire their weapons at us.

Ren, Pyrrha and I helped clear the path from the red androids. The gunners began to fire their weapons at us, prompting me and Pyrrha to raise our shields and for Ren and Nora to take cover behind us.

"Nora, smoke!" I ordered.

"That won't work! The androids are equipped with sensors that allow them to target us even behind smoke," Ren told me, and Nora was pretty aware of this too, judging that she didn't comply immediately like she always would.

With that, I had to look for another way. I realized that while they were resistant to EMPs, they were not fully immune to it. It would at least buy us some time. And also there's this other thing. Gulp. Here goes nothing. "Ren, throw more EMPs at it; Pyrrha, cover me; and Nora…" I faced her, and she was more than eager and prepared for my orders than ever. "Drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword."

Nora smirked and gave me a two-finger salute. I know this sounds something too crazy for something for me to do but I refused to waste ammo, and I needed to get close to them because it was safer and it was the most practical way to deal with them.

Ren threw a handful of EMP grenades to the gunners that were still firing their weapons. The grenades ignited, briefly stunning them, giving me a window of fewer than three seconds to get close to them. I collapsed my shield and put it back on my belt before Nora grabbed my left-hand and propelled me toward the heavies. I raised my sword before grabbing one of them in the chest and thrusting my weapon through its head as it falls back onto the floor.

The other robots recovered from the EMPs and faced towards me. I expanded my shield and used it to shove away one of its guns and sliced off its arm. They were too preoccupied with me that next thing they know, Nora jumped in and completely crushed another one of them with a single strike of a hammer. Pyrrha's spear was thrown into one of the heavies' neck—the one which I sliced the arm off from. She then leaped in and grabbed it and pulled it out as she bounced off its chest. Ren remained at the back, providing cover with clips of armor-piercing bullets.

Meanwhile, on Team RWBY's side of things while they were fighting the mutated Grimm. Ruby was zooming around one of the Mutant Beos while trying to slice it down with her scythe; Weiss was gathering Mutant Creeps and contained them with glyphs suppressing their explosion as they blow each other to smithereens; Yang was giving jabs to the Mutant Ursa's stomach before dodging right from its claw; Blake was handling the other Mutant Beo, which smashed the floor, bringing green crystals to one of her shadow clones as she stabbed its back a few times and then got out, one Mutant Creep tried to sneak behind her but she was able to notice and used her weapon's whip to hurled it to the last Heavy android standing before exploding along with it.

Now that the robots were no longer a problem, we were able to give our sister team a helping hand. Pyrrha fired her rifle at Ruby's Mutant Beo, distracting it away from Ruby as she's able to cut it down in half. Pyrrha then shot the remaining Mutant Creeps who a distance away from Team RWBY and tried to storm at us. I put away my shield and held hands with Ren, masking my emotions with his semblance as I help Blake slay the other Mutant Beowolf by slashing it with my sword as Ren shoots it with his gun on his free hand while the Beo was not able to sense the two of us. Nora shot some grenades at the Mutant Ursa before Yang climbed on it back and pins it down just before Nora steps in and smashed its head into nothing.

"Woo! Alright, who's next?!" Yang stood away from the Mutant's Ursa's corpse. It's a good thing I have adrenaline junkies like her and Nora to leave the more suicidal stuff to. I'm glad I don't have to engage another angry bear.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, checking everyone's status.

"We're all good!" Ruby gleefully reported, giving a thumbs up. She looks pretty cheerful for someone just fought a more advanced version of an Alpha Grimm.

"We should keep moving. Ren, Nora, go the robot assembly and make sure there are no more robots being manufactured. You guys still have EMPs and there shouldn't be too many robots waiting since we wrecked most of them here."

"Roger that! You can always leave the liberation of machine spirits to us!" Nora said. Ren silently nods as they both made their way into the other path.

I faced towards the others and continued. "The rest of us will have to go the Biolabs, it should be where all his experiments at. The map says that Merlot's workshop and the airship landing is through there. The sooner we catch Merlot, the better. So, let's get moving."

The girls agreed and accompanied me to the Biolabs. We entered with our weapons drawn, in case when another hostile show up. It was just as bad as I expected, only that the room was brighter than what I pictured it thanks to the lights and the white walls. It contained a room full of glass tanks filled with the serum with unconscious Grimm floating inside—it was something straight out of a horror film, a zombie film, to be exact except it has jars of Grimm instead of humans or faunus.

Aside from the Grimm contained in test tubes, there were also some computers that are calculating the Grimm's stats and biology, and a few workbenches containing some chemist's lab, some dusts vials of mutagen.

I grabbed one of the tablets hanging on the bench to check what's inscribed in it. The title confirmed that this was Project: Grimm Eclipse. The tablet contained stats comparison of the Grimm before and after mutation, as well as a list of specimens and their augmentations. It is said that only Creeps, Scavers, Beowolves, and recently Ursas are the only specimen deemed to be successfully compatible with the mutagen as the tests with other specimen either failed or were still in early stages of development, explaining why those were the only mutated Grimm we were able to encounter.

Though, what caught me the most that really disturbed me was that there as an update saying that he managed to get ahold of a Large-Class Grimm and its test was near-complete.

And I was still in the dark with Merlot's motivation. What does he exactly plan to do with this? Destroy a kingdom that he loathes so much?

"I don't like this place, can we go now?" Ruby suggested, gripping both handles of her Crescent Rose.

"Looks like there's nothing else of use for us here, apart from files we could give to the Professor. We just have to find Merlot and we'll be out of here." Pyrrha stated.

I took out my scroll and reviewed the map. "Merlot's workplace is right around the corner. If he's not hiding there, then I don't know where."

Suddenly one of the blast doors opened. Curious, we all walked toward it. It leads to a huge open space with several screens on the walls with some of the serum spilled on the floor, and there was a large door on the side. We all went through the door for a closer look.

When I connected the dots, I knew that this was a trap. I rushed back to the previous room when the door abruptly shut with everyone but me inside.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled out my name and began to slam at the door. I even noticed some black outlines surround the door, suggesting that Pyrrha tried opening it with her magnetism but it was too strong that it remained closed tightly.

"Pyrrha!" I said, also slamming at the door. Worried at what might happen to her and the others now that they were trapped in there.

One of the screens behind flashed open and Merlot made another announcement. "Welcome to the testing grounds, students. Since you are so curious about my research on the Grimm, then you will be thrilled to know that I have synthesized the perfect combination of the serum. So why don't you go and get acquainted with my latest experiment? It may still be in a testing phase but I know you love challenges and this one could use the exercise."

The screen cut to one of the cameras in the testing ground where the girls were trapped at. Merlot dropped a large Mutated Grimm in the middle of the chamber. The worst part was, it was a DEATHSTALKER.

A Deathstalker… it had to be a freaking Deathstalker, doesn't it? As if regular Deathstalkers weren't horrifying enough.

"Don't be shy, students. You could learn a lot from this enhanced specimen. They don't teach a thing like this in Beacon." Merlot said before cutting his feed into simply showing his logo.

Thank Gods for their standards then. I realize that even their more brutal tests aren't as bad as this. With that, I am never going to take their tests for granted ever again.

Well, that made me almost glad that I bailed out when I had the chance, but I still needed to get my friends and partner out of there. As much as I just want to rush to the exit and get in the airship early, it would only warrant unwanted questions about that decision and deny me of the reward. Besides, all I had to do was find and capture Merlot and find a way to open the test chamber's door so that the others could escape; that doesn't sound hard on paper, but given how stubborn this guy was, I expected it to be anything but easy.

I found out that I don't have a lot of options, so I had to go to Merlot's workplace myself. The map also indicated that it was also near the exit where the landing pad will be waiting, so I'll be able to escape quickly in any case. Apparently, it was designed that way so that the most important personnel was able to leave the facility within a short period of time in case of disasters.

I went to the door of Merlot's personal workplace to find out it was locked. There was some sort of handprint scanner that could be used to unlock the door, but I don't have anything to bypass it. Luckily, the lock allows you to conveniently use the master password instead, in case the scanner was unusable due to malfunctions.

I typed in the same password I used to gain access to the island's communications and the laboratory's files—and much to my joy, it worked.

I readied my pistol as the door opened, I saw him facing me in his back. He was watching Team RWBY and Pyrrha fighting the Mutant Deathstalker on multiple different screens, each providing different camera angles on the testing grounds.

He heard his door slid open and turned back to see me step in with my pistol pointed at him. He quickly grabbed his own pistol on his desk with his right hand (which turned out to be robotic) and turned to me as he began hovering his index on a red button and while his robot hand aims his pistol at his own head.

"Hold it right there, Arc! Another move and I will either pull the trigger or initiate the lab's self-destruct that would be activated within less than a minute which won't be enough for you to get everyone evacuated. I'll even do both if I have to! Regardless, I'm not allowing you to take me alive."

Normally, I wouldn't care much if he killed himself; it's not like I wanted him alive. But Ozpin made it clear that he prefers Merlot to be captured and breathing. He still has a lot to answer for. "You wouldn't. You sure you don't want to see the result of your latest experiment first?"

He smiled sinisterly. "You know, I kind of like you, Arc. You and your family have some sort of determination that has always intrigued me. I was wondering where were you since I thought you'd be in the test chambers with your teammates. I've been curious about the moment you gain access to my communications network. How are you able to bypass the network's security? I don't go around telling everybody my password."

"Maybe it's because one of your employees left a piece of paper containing your super-secret master password on your ship?"

"How inconvenient, one of my former employees might have hacked to get my password. I had the suspicion they would try to access my files after the company's decline."

Yeah, well, I should also thank you for not programming your robots into finding and destroying papers that could be vital to those who are hunting you down.

"Look, just give it up. If you want to make the world a better place like what you'd claim, you're going to answer for threatening Remnant with your experiments. You already know that I'm not going anywhere without you in my custody." I said, continuing to aim my gun at him.

"You're berating me of threatening the world? Tell me, how many people did you kill to get your status, both directly and indirectly? How many widows and orphans have you made because someone's family member in the White Fang weren't able to get home?"

I think about it sometimes, and they would occasionally even haunt me, but I have probably killed plenty enough that I have got to the point where I really couldn't care less about it anymore so long as nobody is trying to threaten me. The people I killed would have eventually died because of their own pathetic life choices anyway. "Why does that matter? Even if I did kill some people, it was only so that fewer innocents would die. Can you even say the same with what you're doing?"

Merlot chuckled. "Perhaps not, but as a matter of fact, my original plan for this research was far more altruistic, little did you know."

"Huh?" I uttered, widening my eyes in bewilderment.

"It should be no surprise that I have a deep fascination with Grimm, but it wasn't my initial intention to strengthen them into becoming more terrifying monsters everyone already perceives them as. The original purpose of this research was to find a possible solution to the Grimm's hostile nature. The substance that I'm currently using was said to be scientifically possible to remedy the Grimm's perpetual hunger for souls, and perhaps uplift them into something more."

"I take it that it didn't go so well?"

"The substance was dangerous by default as it accelerates a specimen's development to the point that they are able to reach beyond their established evolution, thus, giving them forms that were never before seen. But with a little science, it can be modified into only enhancing the Grimm's intelligence and even remove its blind thirst for negative emotions once and for all. Thus, pacifying them that they're no longer a threat."

He took a breath and continued, "We once thought that the project was a success since all tests and experiments that took years have passed and were proven to be successful. It was a revolutionary discovery that could have solved the biggest problem in Remnant since the beginning of time. After the completion of the project, we gained the approval of The United Councils Committee to begin taming the Grimm with the modified serum, starting on Mountain Glenn. It worked, The Grimm did not attack a single living being after being stuck with the serum, not even the animals. The road that linked Vale and Mountain Glenn became one of the safest routes in all of Remnant that they were reopened to the public. The Committee was very impressed by my work, news around the globe began to circulate about my innovation, and the company was growing bigger than ever that my name has become something to be reckoned with. The Committee considered giving me an award. The project was a scientific breakthrough that was changing the world…or so we thought."

Call me pessimistic, but although pacifying the Grimm was a great, if an overly-ambitious idea, that I could finally roam around the woods without much worry—it was doomed to fail from the start. I don't know about you, but nature is very persistent when it comes to change

"And then what happened?" I asked, being compelled by this information that I almost drew my gun down.

"We were then supposed to carry out another operation to pacify Grimm on another region, it was when I got urgent reports that the test subjects we spent ages experimenting on were not only reverting back to its savage aggressive state but were becoming stronger too, and so was the Grimm that we injected on. We realized that the serum was far from perfect and the effects were only temporal, and it was far too late to pull the plug. The Grimm went back to their feral state and attacked settlements around Mountain Glenn the least everyone expected it. The military and Huntsmen were having difficulties handling them due to the serum making them more powerful and everyone kept helplessly asking me what to do. The military pinned the blame on me and tried to have me in custody, but I refuse to have any of it. I went into hiding in a safe place where no one would find me. Days later, I would find Mountain Glenn to be obliterated into oblivion, Vale being on temporal lockdown, and me being presumed as dead."

That sucks. Must have been pretty tough being held responsible for an entire disaster. I feel kind of sorry for this guy but I have to focus on the task at hand and I still remember what he intends to do with his creations and that he told me all of this while still pointing a freaking gun at his own head.

"When I heard about this, I expected everyone to pay their respects for everything I did to give the world a brighter future despite my shortcomings, but instead I found everyone spitting on my name and blamed the whole incident on me. They shut down my whole company and took everything away from me. They called me a madman, a failure and a fool who thought he change the nature of Grimm. I could never show my face to the public ever again and I allowed them to believe that was dead. I've chosen to embrace the image they gave me and carried on my project with a different goal. I always liked the Grimm, there is potential inside them that they cannot unlock for themselves that makes them more than just mindless beasts, so I believe it is my calling to help them receive it. If they chose to see me that way, then so be it."

Well, that was a rather interesting tale of someone's fall from grace and descent to madness that explains some things but it sure did leave some questions. "Why all this? Couldn't you have apologized and prove them wrong by doing better?"

"That is what I am exactly trying to do, except that I have nothing to apologize for. Humans and Faunus are both weak and pathetic excuses of species. There are good reasons why they cannot dominate their own world despite their so-called intelligence. They are destined to live in fear, because they are full of it, whereas the Grimm knows nothing about fear and I'm only trying to put them in a place they deserve."

"You really lost it. What about making the world a better place? Are you letting yourself be remembered as a monster forever?" I asked as I carefully stepped into the room closer.

"I am making the world a better place. Salem was right about the world being better off ruled by chaos."

That one left me puzzled. I would have passed it off as another name that was simply mentioned, but I had a feeling that there was more to that name. It felt like it wasn't the first time I heard of it. "Salem? Who's Salem?"

"I see that neither Oz nor your own father told you, maybe you could ask them." he sneered. "Assuming you'll able to leave this place alive."

There were a lot of things going on and more questions just popped up my head while I do my best repress this thought and focus on finding a way to capture him without getting himself or everyone killed.

I looked at one of the screens behind Merlot and found Yang getting thrown into a wall. Merlot just stands there, smirking, not entirely aware of what's going to happen, I could even see her hair glowing on the screen.

"Your efforts to rid the world of Grimm as Huntsmen will be a pointless failure. Grimm will continue to slowly but surely consume every space of Remnant, with or without my gifts to them. If there is anyone who should give up, it would be—" His taunting was interrupted when a cylinder shaped object was tossed inside the room, and it turned out to be an EMP grenade. "Is that—?"

Once it detonated, his robotic right arm began to malfunction that he dropped his pistol. I took this opportunity to jolt myself toward him and have him pinned on the ground to keep him away from pressing the button. Merlot tried to resisting and pushing me away that I whipped my pistol on his forehead, knocking him unconscious and even stopping his right hand that was moving uncontrollably.

"Still you, then!" I got up and stepped away from his unconscious body and saw Ren appear in the doorway with both of his weapons drawn.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I thought his brains would have splat on my face. Anyway, good job. Wouldn't know what to do without you."

"It's my pleasure." Ren nodded before went to Merlot's body and have his hands cuffed.

I went to the screens and watch the girls struggle with the Mutant Deathstalker while an enraged Yang pushes it back. "Guys, we got him!" I told them on the scroll's channel.

"Wonderful news, Jaune, but we still have a Mutant Deathstalker in our hands," Pyrrha responded.

"Hang on tight. I'll have the door unlocked for you." I put my scroll down and looked around and notice that someone was missing. "Hey, where's Nora?"

"She's waiting for you to open the test chamber's door so she could help. And by the way, she's been electrified."

"So does that mean…" I looked at the screens and saw one of the cameras showing Nora waiting outside the testing ground's door, with lighting visibly sparking around her.

"Let me in, Fearless Leader! Imma 'bout to give this giant bug some good ole' squashing!"

I smirked and then I went to the controls and pressed the button that opened the door when I found it. "Knock em' dead, Sparky."

She smiled devilishly at the camera before swiftly flashing inside to the room and then hit the Mutant Deathstalker hard enough that it was sent crashing into the other side of the room, giving the wall it a huge crater.

It got up rather angrily, but before it was able to do anything else than screech, it was then hit by a flurry of powerful punches thanks to her semblance being active. Yang then went over the Mutant Deathstalker's body and grabbed its stinger then violently pulled it with almost all of her strength that it was torn off from its body with green liquid squeezing out like blood.

The Mutant Deathstalker could now barely stand, with its legs failing that its body fell to the floor. Yang bolted away from it when Nora finished it off by bouncing into the air and using one last strike to slam it into nothing but green liquid and a crater on the ground.

Not really a good day to be an enhanced scorpion Grimm, now, was it? Merlot should be thankful that he did not witness another one of his precious babies meet their demise, I bet he would have even dropped tears from the cybernetic eye of his.

With the last hostile dead and the target captured, it was safe to say the mission is complete. The only thing left to do was get off there, and I was getting sick of being in the facility for much longer.

"Good work, everyone. We've done everything we need to do. Let's go home." I announced at everyone after taking deep breath. Afterward, I contacted Ozpin to tell him that we've finished our mission, "Professor, the deed is finally done."

"Excellent work, students. I knew that you were able to handle this. You truly are worthy of being Huntsmen. Now make your way or the landing pad not far from your location. The Bullhead will take you back to Beacon. I'm very proud of you."

"Right ahead of you." I put my scroll down and helped Ren carry an unconscious Merlot out to the landing pad nearby.

It didn't take long for the Bullhead to arrive, it's because it was waiting somewhere about the island when they dropped off the rest of our teams. Ren and I got into the Bullhead and we put Merlot on a stretcher. The girls then caught up and hopped on in. The Bullhead then departed, taking us away from the island.

I finally sighed and sat down, still not believing that I was able to see the end of this mess. I'm finally able to relax now that I don't have to worry about this anymore.

"That was... awesome!" Ruby suddenly chirped up, surprising those who are trying to unwind after a long, arduous mission. "We get to fight Grimm that nobody has seen before and we don't have to study to pass the semester anymore!"

"Heck, yeah, sis! Nothing says 'best day ever' like fighting killer robots, evil scientists, and super-Grimm!" Yang pumped with her sister.

"At least you two had fun," Weiss said while wiping off the dirt in her dress, probably grumbling about my journey with her, which I couldn't blame her for.

I'd say the reward was worth it, but this is something I would rather not go through again. Studying might have been less trouble than what I have just recently experienced.

"So, this is the infamous Doctor Merlot. I never thought I would meet him in the flesh like this." Blake remarked as she examined him on the stretcher in the middle of the Bullhead.

"What does he need the robot arm for? Looks to me that he just wasted a perfectly good arm." Yang said.

"Either he lost it at one point or he simply just wanted some cybernetics," Ren explained.

Cybernetic implants are cool and all, but if I learned something today then I found out that, they're not always better than normal arms as a single EMP can screw them up. Even if you use cybernetics to restore an amputated body part, you will still feel like there's something missing on your body. I don't think I'm going to saw off my own arm anytime soon, I like my body just the way it is.

A holographic screen emerged on the Bullhead's interiors, it shows Ozpin commending us for our efforts on the mission. "Students, I am glad you are able to make it with minimum casualties. It speaks volumes about what you are capable of. Don't worry about the island, the Atlesian Military will take care of the rest. Rest assure that you have completed your mission and that you have earned the extra credit that we promised you with."

That's good to hear. I would have hated being denied my reward just because I missed something. Now I'll be able to spend my days on the final exam taking a comfy, relaxing vacation away from Huntsmen responsibilities.

Ozpin continued, "That was certainly challenging, maybe not as challenging as dealing with Glynda's drunken rants during Teacher's Day, but very challenging nonetheless."

After everything I went through, I could not imagine what that would be like if it's as bad as he claimed it to be, especially since Ozpin himself sounds perturbed by it. Everyone is already scared of a sober Miss Goodwitch, thank Gods teachers are mostly forbidden to drink.

Pyrrha looked perplexed at Ozpin's remark. "I beg your pardon, Professor?"

"Oh, nothing. Carry on celebrating your success. You need after everything you have to go through. I'll see when you return." The holo-screen then withdrew, and we went back to unwind ourselves from the adrenaline-rush of confronting Merlot and his pets.

Weiss suddenly approached and reminded me of an offer I made earlier, "So, are you still up for cake and tea?"

To be honest, I wasn't being serious when I said that and neither was I expecting her to accept it, but it works for me so I might as well take it. "Can't see why not."

We may not really be the best of friends, but we still try to give each other a chance and we may get along when we wanted to. Working together back at the island proved that. Our friends just need to get used seeing us in doing anything that isn't annoying or ignoring each other.

"Did a handsome knight in shining armor melted that cold heart of yours, Ice Queen?" Yang teased as she grins at us, with Ruby being just as amused while Blake doesn't know what to think of it.

Weiss rolled her eyes and turned to them. "Oh, don't you dare go there."

I giggled for a bit before looking at my teammates. Ren was just as disinterested as he always was and was too busy lying on his seat; Nora was glaring at me as she doesn't seem to like me and Weiss going along, and Pyrrha looked like she was trying to keep a straight face beneath her slightly reddening cheeks.

"Easy, now. It's all just friendly stuff. Just relax." I said to Nora to quell any negative thoughts and prevent her from starting unwanted fights on the Bullhead.

"It better be," Nora growled before turning to Pyrrha. "Right, Pyrrha?"

"Uh, yeah! Right..." she attempts to respond as she stammers.

I shrugged off everyone's antics and lied down as I wait for this ship to take me back to school. There were a lot of things I had to clear from my mind that it just forgot to make me feel nauseated during the flight. I just had to make a trip to Forever Fall to investigate some strange stuff and then finding myself shipped into an island filled with super-powered Grimm and killer robots that were led by an insane scientist with a fixation on evolving the Grimm evolution. Whoever is in charge of keeping watch on Merlot after this better do a great job on making sure he doesn't try anything clever again.

One thing that continued to bother me about that journey was Merlot mentioning someone by the name of 'Salem' who once stated that Remnant was better off living in chaos, and Ozpin and Dad seemingly knows about her and that I should ask him if I want to know more. I'll ask about it sometime, but not today. It might rub Ozpin the wrong way and I've already been through enough trouble that I just want some R&R. Maybe I should ask Dad instead, I obviously trust him far more than Ozpin. I'll bring it up once I'm ready.

Thank goodness this is all over. I can't believe I spent five hours on this crap.

 **=o=**

1\. _For context_ , a _caravan containing supplies she bought due to a shortage of fabric was blocked by a Beringel that was terrorizing the trade route to Acadia. There were multiple attempts to dispatch the Beringel but they all failed, leading Viola to successfully take down the Beringel herself after becoming too impatient. She declined the reward and simply took the supplies. She would later find her business has an increase in customers within the following day. It should be noted that Viola Arc did not attend any Huntsman academy, along half the Arc children._

* * *

 **Good grief, adapting a spin-off video game and then translating it to the standards of this story took more work than I anticipated, but I managed to do it.**

 **The second out of three arcs of this story is finally complete. Next five chapters will about the Vytal Festival.**

 **Also, don't forget to check out the Extras if you haven't yet, I had more ideas that popped up to it while writing this chapter. I was supposed to finish the second extra a while ago but I end up putting my most of my focus on the main story. I still plan to update it, so stay tuned.**

 **Don't forget that feedback of any sort is appreciated!**

 **Note: As of 8/17/2019, the footnote regarding this fic's version of Commissars have been moved to chapter 5 since that chapter has been updated to include the reveal of Jaune's father formerly being a Commissar.**


	11. Who Dares Wins

**Here we are, the first chapter of the final arc, The Vytal Festival. Not only we have reached this point, but this fic is also now one year old! To celebrate, I made a Spotify playlist of the songs Jaune listened to throughout the story from his scroll's music player. It's just a fun little thing I thought I'd do. Here's the link:**

 **(Replace the commas with dots)**

 **open,spotify,com/playlist/3dV6TxBvxG6SsZ3r97HXVO?si=abkz8i3xROK1LYhvg01pew**

 **If you haven't noticed yet, the previous chapters have been slightly revised, they mostly remain the same, only with a few new paragraphs; some of the dialogue being revamped; and many, if not most of the errors being fixed. Please give them another read if you like. That being said, I'm sure there are still some errors I haven't noticed yet; if you managed to spot them, don't be afraid to let me know.**

 **And as a reply for a short review LastPenis saying that this is just canon in the end; Yeah, I know this is just following the show despite the divergences since the point of this fic first and foremost is to retell the canon of the show in the perspective of a less incompetent, secretly-disillusioned version of Jaune while alternating some events because of his actions and expand on the background. But I can assure you, once I'm done with the Vytal Festival. I won't be relying much on the canon story. PS: I really love your username gachiHYPER**

 **Don't forget to check out the extras if you're interested.**

* * *

 _Editorial Note:_

 _The 40th Biennial Vytal Festival went down as a very major episode in modern history, and it made no less impact on Jaune Arc's life, even shaping him to become the person he is today. This is his recollection of the events, starting at his team's first round of the Vytal Tournament, which took place a few weeks after the Merlot Event._

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 **Chapter 11**

 **Who Dares Wins**

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 _"What do you call intelligent people in Vacuo? Tourists."_

 ** _-A classic_** ** _joke between former members of the Eastern Alliance._**

Ah, the Vytal Festival. Nothing says peace between nations than celebrating with fun activities such as parades, dances, contests, games and a tournament that has the world's top academies fighting each other for supremacy that makes their respective fans to yell at each at one another over who is better, occasionally even resulting in brawls if it gets heated enough; thus defeating the festival's purpose of promoting peace and friendships. Basically, it's just sports in general—except the players are schoolchildren whose goal is to basically crush their opponents. Once these few weeks of partying are all over, the kingdoms will inevitably go back at bickering at each other over dumb, petty politics until the next festival arrives.

To the surprise of literally nobody, we made it to the tournament since there was absolutely no reason for them not to put us in there. Ren and Nora are very competent fighters that complement each other perfectly; Pyrrha is the four-time, back-to-back, consecutive champion of the Mistral Regionals; and everyone is calling me the latest Hero of Beacon for stopping the breach while Vale is hosting for this year. We are pretty much celebrities at this point. Of course, why wouldn't they put us in the tournament?

I'll give The Great & Powerful Ozpin some credit for keeping the Merlot situation confidential. Nobody needs to know that the person behind Mountain Glenn's demise is still alive even if he is incarcerated, and nobody especially needs to know that I was one of the people responsible for his capture. It might cause public hysteria when the festival begins and Ozpin wouldn't look good if people find out that he sent first-year students to a very dangerous mission no matter how exceptional they consider ourselves are.

Come to think of it, if it went public, it might have been kind of nice if that it would have deemed me and my team overqualified for the tournament; with my partner already being famous for being near-untouchable and thus, saving us some trouble. But I'll have to digress, it'll probably only end up as wishful thinking at best. My status as a breakout celebrity is already overbearing, I don't need to ruin it for myself, especially if I intend to get far to the tournament and not spoil Pyrrha's winning-streak.

The tournament was held in the floating arena that was hovering above Vytal—the Amity Colosseum, an acrophobic's least favorite place to visit. Everyone who had tickets or an invitation had to ride an aircraft to get there **[1]**. Thankfully the ride there was very brief since the coliseum remains in Vytal's airspace when Vale is hosting the festival, so it wasn't that far from Beacon and I didn't have to hide much of my motion sickness to avoid showing signs of weakness especially to potential opponents.

It wasn't the first time I visited the Coliseum, I remember my last visit here about six years ago. My father bought most of the family to watch Rouge's participation in the tournament during her first year at Beacon. I also remembered being so terrified of the airship ride, not only because of my motion sickness but also because I've never been that high before. It was one of the last moments in a simpler and happier time of life; I even dreamed of competing in the tournament myself. That was all before it took a more cynical turn. Ever since then, I never even thought of seeing the Coliseum in person again.

Well, here I am once more. If I was my eleven-year-old naive self, I would be dying of joy right now and cherish every second of this, but instead, I feel like I have to play some stupid games because everyone wanted me to.

Airships loaded with fans from all over the world gathered around the arena, and of course, the Gods-forsaken press is also here. All the tickets were sold, explaining the dense population of the Coliseum. Let's just be thankful that this coliseum was able to support this many people. There were plenty of well-known teams and fighters that were anticipated; Pyrrha was one of them, especially for her fellow Mistralis as this was the first time she participated in a tournament outside her home region. And of course one of the other acclaimed prodigies they were waiting for was me.

The gods-awful video of me during the incident of Podunk just hit over a million views on PruneHub. I feel bad for everyone who had to watch that shaky, vertically recorded mess that serves as a shining example of how people see me now. I was advertised as one of the most popular upcoming fighters in the tournament and this was only my debut. What made me nervous the most was I have to perform in front of thousands of people. Now, doing stuff to perpetuate my image was one thing, but doing my best to keep my cool in front of a large audience was something else. The best thing to do was focus on the match and ignore the audience as best as you could, but their cheering constantly reminds you of their presence, making that anything but possible.

The first round consisted of entire teams, followed by doubles and singles. The winners will be able to decide which of their teammates would participate in the following round. For this round, we were matched against Team ABRN (Auburn) from Mistral, consisting of Arslan Altan; Bolin Hori; Reese Chloris; and Nadir Shiko, if I remembered their names correctly.

Like some of the exchange students I observed, I've seen them fight before, and while they do have a few quirks that make them slightly stand out from the others, they don't seem to be much of a problem. I should just keep in mind that they are aware that they're facing one of the most incontestable freshmen team on Beacon; they are willing to be the one who would defeat the Invincible Girl if they had to and they don't plan on holding back.

After a few matches from the other contestants passed, it was our turn. Checking to see if all my equipment is functional and are in place, I held a deep breath and faced my teammates in the locker room. They all bore expressions of eagerness and determination. "Alright team, are we ready?"

"We're all set," Ren nodded.

"Let's put Team JNPR on the history books!" Nora pumped beside him.

Hopefully, it doesn't end up on the dishonorable team's section.

She then checked the tournament's livestream on her scroll. "Online chat is pretty pumped up. Let's give em' a show!" She had to remind me that a third of the world is watching us right now.

"Here we go again…" Pyrrha sighed as she listened to the waiting crowd upstairs.

"Hey," I motioned to Pyrrha and comforted her by holding her shoulder. "It's going to be alright. We're all in this together."

Her face brightened up, with a small blush visible from her. I smiled back and let go of her as I led them out of the locker room.

"Remember, guys, this was all we've been training for the past weeks. Let's show them how far we went to get ourselves here." Well, having someone like Pyrrha on the team and possessing an undeserved reputation made us qualified in the tournament by default, but that's wouldn't be inspiring, enow is it?

"Don't worry, what's the worst that can happen? Pyrrha's a world-renowned champion, Ren's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, and you're the biggest hero his kingdom has in a while! And after everything we went through, these guys will be like moles ready to be whacked!" Nora boasted.

"Even if the odds are with us, we're still up against serious competitors, Nora. They're well aware of our feats, so we should prepare for anything we might not expect." Ren pointed out.

I nodded at him at agreement. "He's right, Nora. We can't underestimate these guys. Who knows what clever tricks they might have in their sleeve that they could use just so they could beat us?"

"Still, it's great that we're back into participating in friendly matches with actual guidelines rather than confronting more dangerous criminals who would not hesitate to kill us." Pyrrha chimed in. That, I could agree on. It's honestly kind of refreshing to back in 'honorable' duels with fellow students after dealing with plenty of crazy psychopaths I had the misfortune of crossing paths with.

When in doubt, just remember that an undefeated champion on our team could carry us in this tournament, we just have to not slow her down.

Well, here goes nothing, I thought as we stepped into the octagonally-shaped elevator platform where Team ABRN was waiting for us. We stood at one side, facing against the others. After seconds of silently staring at each other, the dark-skinned blonde leader—Arslan—decided to speak.

"It's an honor to fight against you and your team, Pyrrha Nikos," she bowed slightly at her fellow compatriot.

"May the best team win," she warmly replied.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right fellas?" Reese—the tomboyish looking one with a hoverboard—asked with a cocky grin. I always wanted to have one of those things as a kid.

"Not at all," I said to her as I assumed my sword & shield fighting stance.

The platform then began ascending as it took us to the center of the arena's stage floor. I was almost blinded by the daylight as it shined to us when the floor opened. A colorful abundance of an audience in the seats began to cheer once we emerged, with some cameras visibly flashing. My fans, in particular, were waving signs of me, my name and my team, eager to see their dear heroic knight in action. The same thing goes for Pyrrha's fans, although she doesn't appear perturbed by it thanks to years of being on a pedestal.

There were also a few medics hanging around at the side, waiting in case of unexpected injuries, one of them even winking at me. How assuring, as if I wasn't stressed enough already.

I gave a faint smile as I waved at the crowd, doing my best to suppress my apprehensions before deciding to shift my focus on my opponents as we got into the stage with all our weapons ready, doing my best to keep my composure intact and not let the pressure get the best of me.

Pyrrha noticed my visible anxiety so she turned to me and shot me a comforting smile. "You'll get used to it."

I beamed at her, feeling a little better as I saved my worries into winning this thing. The crowd should be the least of our problems, after all since we're supposed to be humble heroes and not glory hounds so I didn't have to try too hard to impress them.

Professor Port began announcing to the audience, "Here it is! What many of you have been waiting for! One of this year's most remarkable breakout teams in Beacon Academy—Team JNPR! A contender for Team of the Year. Featuring the world-renowned Invincible Girl of Mistral herself—Pyrrha Nikos! And of course, their leader, the Hero of Beacon—Jaune Arc!"

I internally sighed as I put on my heroic smile and waved at my admirers while they chant my name and Pyrrha, who was doing the same. Nora also joined the audience in chanting both of our names while Ren just gave us a faint smile of approval.

The Professor continued. "Are they enough to outmatch the one of Haven's finest? Or will Team ABRN prevail and beat all odds against them? Let's find out!"

Doctor Oobleck then took over. "Of course, before we begin we would like the arena to select the stage's environment where our brave competitors would engage in."

I almost forgot the random selection of biomes for us to be put in. I hoped it would be something rudimentary like a forest or a rocky mountain. Heck, even a desert and a ruined city would be desirable. Just give me something that doesn't look and feel like a preview of the pits of hell or a frozen wasteland.

Holographic screens appeared on one half of the arena as they began shuffling icons for one of the stage's environments. The screens stopped showing an icon of a volcano with a red light glowing behind it.

Oh no…

Half of the stage opened as a volcanic body emerged. I faintly groaned in frustration. It was just something I didn't want. Hopefully, the biome on the other side wouldn't be as bad; I'll just stay away from this one, I thought to myself.

Screens on the other half shuffled until stopping to an icon of an iceberg in front of a light blue glow. An arctic body of an icecap filled with a few glaciers then surfaced to that half of the stage. I could even feel the temperature dramatically drop down as the cold air brought by the biome breezes through us.

Gods fucking dammit.

"Imma 'bout to put the 'burn' in ABRN!" Nora said.

"Bring it on!" taunted Nadir—the pink-haired dude while he cocked his assault rifle.

This is how it's going to go, huh? Alrighty then.

The screens began showing the three-second countdown before the match begins as everyone made themselves ready, narrowing their eyes at their opponents. "Three… two… one… Begin!"

Since I didn't have much time to plan ahead, I ran straight toward Arslan. Normally, bladed weapons like swords are effective against primarily unarmed combatants like her so it was the safest bet, I just need to watch out when she starts to pull out her dagger.

I charged at her with my shield raised. She kicked it with both of her feet and then flipped back before charging toward me. She slid to sweep my feet but I was able to sidestep out of the way. I made my way to the arctic biome as I thought that fighting on an overgrown ice cube was somewhat better than standing on a volcanic rock, at least I knew that my shoes weren't guaranteed to burn. When she stormed at me, I parried her strikes while blocking the others. I raised my sword in an attempted to slash her, however, she was agile enough to avoid every single one of them. She retaliated with a powered punch which I was able to block with my shield but it was still strong enough to knock me back, not helped by the slippery surface of the biome I was standing at.

Knowing that a sword & shield combo won't do much good against Arslan and her fighting style. I drew my pistol from my holster and began firing lasers at her. She cartwheeled away to her right, dodging my gunfire before whipping out her knife and throwing its blade toward me as it was followed by a white string. The rope then wrapped through my left arm and I was dragged to the icy ground. I slid as she pulled me towards her. She then tried to stomp me so I blocked her foot with my sword and used it to push her back as her weapon's roped unwrapped away from my left hand.

I fired more lasers at her while at close range. She was still able to block them with both of her aura infused palms, which slightly costed some of it but it minimized the damage nonetheless. She held her dagger in a reverse grip. We both found ourselves avoiding each other's slashes as I was firing my pistol at her. One of the lasers that flew around went toward Team ABRN's staff wielder, Bolin, who was engaged against Nora. He noticed the laser proceeding near him so he deflected it with his staff, which unfortunately for him, distracted him long enough that he didn't avoid getting frozen by Nora's incoming frost grenade.

Speaking of the other competitors while I was busy with Arslan, Ren was trading clashes with Nadir and his katana at the volcanic biome; while Pyrrha was firing at Reese as she glides around the arena before approaching her, hitting her shield with her board bladed and then getting off it, splitting it in half as it turned into twin revolvers with bayonets. Reese struck Pyrrha while the latter deflects them with her shield and spear.

Both of the opposing team members on the volcanic biome noticed one of their teammates frozen in ice so Nadir took a shard on one of the nearby fire crystals and threw it at Reese. Reese continued to swing her bayoneted pistols at Pyrrha before merging them back and caught the fire crystal. She then placed it in her board, changing its lights' colors from green to red. She flew her way to Bolin while Nadir's blade shortened and was placed somewhere on its handle as his weapon changed into an assault rifle. He provided covering fire for Reese, forcing Ren into cover and Pyrrha to block the gunfire with her shield. Reese hovered to Nadir and freed him by melting the ice.

Nora noticed two of our opponents at one place and launched a grenade towards them. Bolin jumped out as Reese flew away. Arslan began swinging her rope dart around me as I quickly dodged them while continuing to fire at her. I leaped at it when she tried sweeping me on my feet.

Time to show them what we have on our sleeves, then. I imitated a frog's croaking as loud as I could, bewildering our opponents for a split second, which was enough time we needed. Pyrrha got my signal and used her polarity to tug Arslan toward her. Arslan pulled her blade back to its handle to put it away from Pyrrha's range. Pyrrha threw her javelin as she rushed toward her.

Arslan jumped and dodged the incoming javelin. Pyrrha pulled back the javelin back to her and changed it to her xiphos. Arslan used her dagger to deflected Pyrrha's incoming slashes before doing a hook kick that Pyrrha managed to duck under in time.

Ren was still getting suppressed down by Nadir, only barely being able to return fire. I aimed my pistol at and shot him on his bicep. He grunted in pain before turning his attention to me. I charged toward him while I continued kept on shooting, slightly disgruntled that I'm letting myself fight on an igneous surface. Nadir was avoiding the lasers as he adjusted the blade of his weapon's sight, changing his weapon back into a katana. I swung my sword toward him, interlocking our weapons together, sparks coming out of our blades.

This allowed Ren to finally leave his cover and face his next problem. Reese drifted to the magma biome and jumped away from her board, changing it to dual revolvers before firing at Ren. Ren began rushing toward her, zigzagging through her line of fire while shooting back. When they got near each other they kept trading shots with their two guns as they circle around, more often than not missing. Bullet cases rained on the ground until both their guns ran out of ammo almost simultaneously, forcing them to continue the battle with the blades attached to their firearms.

Meanwhile, Bolin was engaging with Nora again. This time, his staff's blades on the edge of each side were unfolded and he used it to push back Nora as hard as he could. Nora tried falling back and launched a volley of grenades at him. Unfortunately, he managed to deflect each one of them by swinging and twirling his staff before they detonated around him. Nora changed her weapon back to a hammer and used the handle to interlock with Bolin's staff.

I was still having a sword fight with Nadir, our steel blades clashed every time they collide with one another. I would step back and fire lasers at him, causing him to desperately block them away with his katana. Once I stopped firing, he changed to his assault rifle. The moment I saw this, I hastily holstered my pistol and expanded my shield the second he started shooting at me. Bullets bounced off from my shield before I dashed to him. I shoved his gun away and slashed away most of his aura.

He was only a few hits away from being knocked out of the match so he started backing down the first chance he got. "I could use some help over here!" he exclaimed.

Reese was twirling her revolvers to counter Ren's attacks when she heard her teammate's fall for help. Ren quickly reloaded his pistols when Reese reassembled her board and used it to block Ren's gunshots at close-proximity. She then hopped on her board and propelled herself out of there, slightly pushing Ren back with the force of its thrusters.

I saw her speeding towards me. I took out my pistol and tried to shoot her down. Despite the laser's speed, she was moving too quick that she missed every shot. She bounced off as she flipped the board before grabbing it and trying to swing it vertically to my face. I blocked with my sword and pushed it back with all the force I could muster, grunting as I held my ground.

"Y'know. You're pretty cute, so don't let me ruin your face." She grinned as she increased the force of her push, putting me back for a few inches.

I admit, she's quite pretty for a sporty skater chick with black facial markings. I'd say she'd make an eligible date if I was the kind of guy that liked getting stepped on from someone like her as if I was her board, but unlike some weird perverts, I'm the kind of guy that prefers getting out of action unharmed, so I'm not into that kind of masochistic crap and I'm definitely not going to let her touch me. **[2]** "Wouldn't want to do the same, sweetheart, but a man's gotta do what he's gotta do."

It was then a good opportunity to use the wolf's call. "Awoo!" I began howling. Pyrrha heard my call so she tackled Arslan back with her shield then used her polarity on Reese's board and levitated her to midair before throwing her toward Nadir. Both of them fell to the ground as Reese collided into her teammate. Nadir winced in pain after his bottom touched the volcanic surface. "Oh! Hot! Hot!"

It was time for the next phase of our offensive. Pyrrha turned back to Arslan just in time to block a roundhouse kick coming behind her. I lunged in and pushed Arslan back with my shield. I back looked at Pyrrha and she nodded as she left.

"Now, Nora!" I yelled.

Nora began to strike back at Bolin, pushing him back before swinging him to Reese and Nadir who both got up, only to get knocked back down when Bolin crashed on them. With three of them in one place, Nora smashed the volcanic surface and sprung a large piece of ground. Pyrrha then leaped in and kicked the large rock with both of her feet toward our three opponents. It was strong enough to push them away from the ring before falling to the ground, effectively defeating three out of four of our opponents at once.

"Why would you look at that! Not one, not two but three contestants from ABRN has been eliminated by ring-out. And of course, because Nadir Shiko's aura is now below the amount needed to continue forward," Professor Port remarked.

Doctor Oobleck followed, "Now the question that remains is what is their leader is going to do now that the rest of her team out of the match? It's going to take a miracle for her to achieve victory at this point."

I gave Nora a thumbs up and she responded by bowing in pleasure before going back to business.

Arslan froze when she noticed all of her teammates getting knocked out of the match at the same time. The state of her being baffled gave me an opening to push to a glacier with my shield. Pyrrha ran toward me before nodding at each other. We fired at the glacier above Arslan until the glacier broke and a piece of it started dropping to her, prompting Arslan to dive out of there.

Arslan fell in front of us. Ren and Nora caught up and joined us into finally defeating our remaining opponent. The first thing Arslan saw after looking up was all the four of us pointing our guns at her. Knowing that her chance of winning this thing was thrown out the window, she was wise enough to put her hands up and surrender.

The audience roared with applause. Professor Port went on to announce our victory. "And there you have it, folks! Arslan Altan has conceded defeat! Team JNPR wins the match!"

I gave a relieved sigh as I wiped the sweat away from my forehead. Well, we're off to a good start, I told myself. At least I now know what type of opponents I should expect now that I've gotten past this round. Part of me is tempted to shout at the audience and say 'Are you not entertained?!' but I didn't want to encourage them any further and besides, I think it would contradict my image as a modest hero.

Arslan pushed herself up. Pyrrha helped her stand. "Well fought," she breathed out.

"You did great too," Pyrrha assured

Arslan's brightened at us. "I wish you luck in the next round."

"Thank you," I said. I looked out of the ring and saw the others.

Outside the arena, Reese and Bolin were waving their hands while Nadir looked like he was giving a thumbs up. "Hey, no hard feelings, remember?!" I shouted to hem. Reese responded by giving a two-finger saluting.

Ren was panting and breathing heavily when Nora bounced and abruptly raised his arm along with hers as the audience cheered. Ren kept sporting his usual lukewarm expression, but deep down, he was noticeably happy that we were able to get through this. "We're the best around! Nothing's going to ever keep us down!" Nora bubbled.

The audience began chanting our team name as we waved back at them. We left shortly after we were allowed to leave since I was getting a little disturbed at everyone cheering at me, and I didn't want to make my discomfort to be more apparent to them.

That's it for round one. Things are going great so far. Better not get ahead of myself, though. I should remember that my next opponents did something to get them to win on their respective rounds so I should be prepared for just about anything.

 **=o=**

1\. _The Amity Coliseum was stationed on the Lancaster Air Force Base on Vytal when inactive. It was originally a ground structure located in the middle of Amity's city—hence the name—prior to being modified to become an aircraft after riots and terrorist attacks occurred and during the twenty-seventh biennial tournament._

2\. _And yet he also said that there was only one room for a woman in his life that has the privilege to dominate him. Not that I'm complaining._

* * *

Heading to the fairgrounds back at Beacon was also a bit of a challenge itself. I have to deal with the press, answer their questions and doing my best to not get blinded by their flashing cameras, sign autographs for some fans, take pictures with some of them (though I won't lie, the fan art of us they asked to sign was really cool and mostly well-drawn even though nobody could get my stature right), and take another Gods-forsaken flight for a few minutes just so I could get to back on Beacon grounds.

The lines at the fairgrounds were also another thing. Thankfully, being well-known heroes and victors of the recent match has given us some special treatment, so everyone insisted on letting us skip the lines out of respect. As a result, we ended getting a large box of pizza in a matter of a few minutes when the booth has the longest line due to being the most popular food booth in the fairgrounds, and who can blame them? It's pizza. It's nice to feel the upsides of my reputation every now and then after enduring the burdens that came with it for months now.

"All of this tournament stuff is making me hungry!" Nora blurted. Unsurprisingly, she was looking just as lively as she always been as if she never fought. "Itadakimasu!" **[1]**

Aside from the fact that all of my teammates came from different parts of Anima, that's pretty appropriate to phrase to say after beating up a team from Mistralis and rewarding ourselves with some good ole' food. I humbly receive indeed.

We were all sitting at a round table where we placed our food and drinks. I pleased myself with the fragrance of the pepperoni pizza before taking a bite. Pyrrha was enjoying the pizza too and Nora was munching on her first few pieces while Ren finished his fourth bottle of water, still refreshing himself after the fight.

"Be careful Nora. We need to keep you fit in case you are chosen for the next fight," he panted out before taking a piece of pizza on his own.

"You worry too much, Ren. You know I always keep myself in shape. It's not like I plan to be the first fat girl in Beacon or something," she reassured after finishing the breadcrumbs of her last piece.

"Now that this round is settled. Which of us are going to represent our team for the doubles?" Pyrrha asked after swallowing her food.

Normally, I would have loved to sit all the following rounds out and have Pyrrha participate in each of them. She's obviously going to be present in every round since she's our key to winning the tournament. If it really was up to me, I would have picked Nora to accompany her in the doubles. The combined power of those two—along with some electric dust—could curb-stomp the following match with almost no effort. If only if it wasn't for the fact that Noir and Blanche want me to participate in the next round because that is when they are scheduled to perform the tribute song of me and it will sound awkward if I don't compete in the match after that. Not to mention, I have a reputation to uphold; people will be suspicious that the so-called Hero of Beacon has only competed in one round and chickened out with the rest. I can handle one more fight, it'll be the last one at least.

So, it looks like it's going to be me Pyrrha then. At the very least, I can always count on her at my side. I'll just have to endure for one last round and then let Pyrrha handle the rest. She hasn't lost a single fight yet and she's a stubborn enough fighter to keep herself from making her first defeat, so there was no reason for me to doubt her.

"Pyrrha and I will take care of it. Pyrrha's the key to this, and she's going to need someone she trusts and works well with" for the next round. Besides, we're crowd favorites; who doesn't want to see more of The Hero of Beacon and the Pride of Mistral in action together?"

"The power couple of the year to represent Team JNPR?" Nora pondered before standing up and raising a fist. "No objections on that one!"

"I thought you and Ren were the power couple of the year," I said, remembering their reputation as a pair.

"Well, we're the runner-ups." Nora embarrassedly glanced at her side. "I mean, I know while we are inseparable—not that it means we're more than besties than anything. You two make a much more awesome duo. Not to mention, cuter."

Pyrrha and I awkwardly "looked at each other and saw both of our faces reddened on that remark. As much as I am doing my best to get close to my partner, I still have yet to decide if I want to go to that level.

Ren came to rescue us by bringing up something I haven't thought about in a while, "By the way, have you found your semblance yet?"

Honestly, I almost forgot about that. Don't get me wrong, I'm interested to see what kind of underwhelming superpower I have, but I may have got to the point where I'm starting to believe that I am perfectly fine without one, and having one might cause more trouble than it's worth. "Not yet. I'm still figuring out what it could be."

"Maybe it's already awakened and we just don't know it yet?" Nora pondered.

"That's possible. Some people theorize that everyone already has their semblance unlocked, they just need to discover what it is and how to use it at will." Pyrrha chimed in.

Nora giggled. "Heh. Potato."

"You really need to spend less time on Skimdat, Nora," Ren said.

"Don't worry, I will. Those guys aren't even funny anyway," she reassured. "But I'll keep moderating the board."

I raised my brow. "The board?"

"Someone made a board in Skimdat about you! It's like the closest thing you have to a fansite right now. Pyrrha has one too!" Nora answered as Pyrrha chuckled and blushed when she mentioned her fans' message board.

"She got moderator privileges after she verified that she was one of your teammates," Ren added.

"And I even banned all the role-players and everyone who dared to criticize you!"

That's definitely Skimdat board alright. Also giving Nora a banhammer and letting her do virtual janitorial work for free. Clever idea, what could possibly go wrong?

"You should do a Q&A there sometime. They'll love it," she then proposed.

"Okay…" I murmured. I don't think I'll visit my own my fans' board very often, so I find the chances of me making a Q&A there very slim unless Nora forces me to. I just find it to be a scary place and I'll probably just get myself ironically banned if I post honestly about myself anonymously. I'm just not particularly comfortable being in an echo-chamber that worships me. Eh, it could have been worse, at least they're not obsessing over supposed sexualities of cartoon characters or something.

I took a sip from my soda and put us back on topic, "Anyway, I wouldn't say I have a semblance until I know for sure."

"We should bring back the exercises where we try to awaken your semblance. I'm still excited to see what it would be!" Nora suggested as she leaned from her chair.

I'll be frank with you, I really don't miss those. My experiences with them were nothing short of unpleasant. Although putting me in tests courses and throwing everything not nailed on the floor at me was kind of fun for the first few times, I quickly called them off when I started to realize it was becoming less about getting my stupid semblance and more of me being a glorified lab-rat inside danger rooms. Last time I had those exercises was with my family in between the first and second semesters since they had the same idea. To make a long story short, I almost got a trip to the hospital.

"After the tournament, Nora." Or preferably never again. "I can't be too distracted trying to unlock my semblance right now."

"Okay, then," Nora said before slurping her straw on a can of diet-soda, we were careful to make sure we didn't mix it with regular soda again, otherwise, the fairgrounds would have been closed early, to put it simply.

My scroll suddenly began ringing on one of my pockets. I took it out and found out that it was a call from Mom. I accepted the call then a video feed of her popped up. "Hi, sweetie! I saw you won your first round. You're doing great, we're really proud of you."

I smiled back at her, feeling a little more comfortable after seeing her face as if thoughts about my trepidations just disappeared. "Good to see you too, Mom. I guess Noir and Blanche don't have to worry about me not showing up tomorrow."

"They never doubted you, Jaune. They were positive that you'll win," she assured. Of course, they'd bet on me.

"That's quite a gamble, but I appreciate it," I said before I raised my scroll and held it horizontally so I could show her my team. "Anyway, here's my team. We wouldn't have got this far without each other."

"Hello, Mrs. Arc!" Pyrrha greeted as she waved her hand at the scroll's video feed.

"Hello, you must be Pyrrha! My son told me a lot of good things about you." Mom chirped, "Still doing your best to win another tournament, I assume?"

"I've been there too many times, ma'am, but I'll be happy to do it for my team." she nodded.

"That's great to hear. It's nice to know that my son is leading such a lovely team."

"Indeed, I sincerely couldn't think of a better partner," Pyrrha remarked, which flattered me for a bit.

"How sweet." Mom remarked before asking a question Pyrrha and I didn't need. "By the way, are you single?"

I turned my scroll away from my teammates. "Mom… please." I sighed to her as I hid my blush while she smirks at me. You know that the shipping between you and your own partner is getting out of hand when even your own mother is doing it.

"She is, but not for long!" Nora answered.

"Nora!" Pyrrha stressed with her face almost as red as mine.

Mom laughed something which I missed since I left home. "You know I'm just kidding, sweetie. But you have to admit, she'd make a good daughter-in-law."

My flustered state was getting worse that I have to quickly change the subject before it escalates. "Alright, alright, we get it. So, how are the others?"

"It's still just me, your father and Vert here. Rose and Rouge should arrive there soon," She answered. Looks like Viola is still busy at Acadia even during the festival, probably designing some outfits for some performers or something; and Bleu still has some business to take care of in Mantle. This could only mean Noir and Blanche are my only sisters that are in Vale so far, and news told me that they were preparing for their performance tomorrow.

Sometimes I feel a little homesick so it was beneficial for me to keep in touch with them every now and then. "May I see them?"

"Of course!" She then turned to her side to call the others, "Guys, Jaune's calling from Beacon!"

Footsteps were heard on the other side of the feet as Dad and Vert approached Mom's scroll. Mom adjusted the camera of her feed to they could be visible. "Good to hear from you again, Jaune!" Vert waved.

Dad was wearing a simple black polo-shirt and shorts, his signature hat was most noticeably absent. Seeing him reminded me that I still have to ask about the Salem person that Merlot mentioned, but it wasn't the right time to ask that question.

"Well, if it isn't the Hero of Beacon. You really have been making moves there, haven't you?" he said.

Sadly, I was. In another life, I would have been proud of it, but right now I don't think I'll ever know peace again because of it. "I'm just doing what a Huntsman is supposed to do."

"Sounds like something I would say. Looks like you're growing to become like your old man." he warmly replied.

That's what I'm worried about. I still feel bad for getting this far. The Arc family legacy didn't deserve to be carried by a disappointment who will never live up to it. Going along with my reputation and not staining the Arc family name the best I could be the least I could do.

"Thanks, Dad. I couldn't have done it with my team though. Speaking of which, here they are." I said, adjusting the camera to my team.

"Oh, it's Caiaphas Arc! The guy single-handedly defeated Harvesters and Tyrants." Nora squealed. I should have seen this coming, everyone was familiar with my dad, and if there was anyone Nora would fangirl over aside from me, it was him. It was part of the reason why she was worshipping the ground I walk.

"Yep, that's me." Dad nodded. "You guys put on a good show, keep it up. You're the future Remnant need."

"It is an honor, Mr. Arc," Pyrrha said. "Your son is hard at work to lead us to our best."

"So I've heard. I worked hard to get where he is now, and I'm glad it's paying off greatly."

Which is why I am playing along with all of this, otherwise, I would be slacking off around my room in Arcshire by now and be apathetic about the tournament.

Nora turned to Ren. "You heard that, Ren?! Caiaphas Arc told us we did great!"

"I heard, Nora," he replied and faced the screen. "Thank you, sir. It's not every day you get complimented by a living legend."

"Don't sweat it." Dad smiled. "One day, you'll become living legends yourselves."

Nora made an excited shriek while she looked like she was suppressing an explosive burst of exhilaration after being complimented by her idol's father who was also her idol. Ren noticed this and used his semblance to calm her down before her excitement could destroy the pizza parlor.

After she settled down, she faced back at my scroll and saw my sister, "Hey, you must be Vert. Is it true that you really have that many pets?"

"You're Nora, right? Man, you really a bundle of energy." Vert chirped as she went closer to the camera. "Yeah, but I wouldn't call them pets. They're more to me than that, even if they hate Jaune. One thing for sure, at least Jaune won't have to worry about them while he's still there."

I still have to worry about a certain dog unfortunately, I've been extra cautious on the corridors ever since he arrived on Beacon. I'm thankful that he stays on Team RWBY's dorm but I can't be too sure nowadays as pets tend to wander off.

"Speaking of which, I still have to feed Bibi. It's really nice knowing you! Take care!" Vert waved at us before leaving.

"I should go too. Good luck tomorrow, squirt. Tell your sisters I said 'hi' and remind Rouge to behave." Dad nodded at me.

Eh, Rouge being Rouge, that's asking a little too much for her, but I've been living with her for my whole life so I can take care of it, I think. "Of course, Dad."

"Keep up the good work, we're rooting for you here." He continued before walking away as well, leaving Mom the only person left in the field.

"I won't let you guys down," I assured her.

"I know you won't. Good luck out there, honey," she said before ending the feed.

"I still couldn't believe that he is your dad." Nora bubbled, "I'm under the leadership of the Hero of Beacon who is the son of Caiaphas Arc himself! I'm aware of this for months and I still couldn't stop gushing about it!"

You can thank my family's low-key nepotism for that, Nora.

We finished our meals and took a stroll around the fairgrounds. There was a colorful assortment of people around the vicinity—mostly students in their combat gear, either eating, chatting, playing games at one of the booths to win some prizes, or simply just hanging around doing their own thing.

I managed to recognize a few girls there from the day I was helping Sun and Neptune get a partner for the dance—including those two cute Atlesian girls that Sun rejected. I gave them a wave and they excitedly returned the gesture before giggling and covering their own blushes. That gave me a pleasant feeling, though I don't think I could say the same thing for Pyrrha.

Occasionally, some fans would approach us asking for photos and autographs. While they can be annoying sometimes, I am grateful for their support. I kind of enjoy being on a pedestal even if I don't feel like I deserve it. Some fans would even offer me food, though I either decline or throw them away the moment no one is looking. As much as I adore them, I don't trust them on feeding me; there are chances that the food they offer could contain poison or something harmful. I advised my teammates to not accept food from fans. Since we already ate recently, we had an excuse not to eat.

We suddenly came to a halt after being called by Emerald, known for being a member of the unfortunately-named Team CMEN. "Hey, you dropped this." We turned back and saw her holding Ren's wallet.

Ren checked all of its pockets to find out it wasn't there "It must've fallen when I was sitting and I did not notice it," he stepped on to Emerald and took his wallet. "Thank you, I'll be sure to be careful next time."

"I told you they would slip out from pants like those!" Nora remarked, "Imagine what would happen if she didn't say it, we'll get broke and we won't be able to pay for our tickets ourselves!"

This is pretty much why I keep my wallet in my front pocket and attached it with a hook string that is affixed on my belt hoops. That way, not even the cleverest thief would be able to successfully pick my wallet. Though, it was rather fishy that Emerald was able to pick-up Ren's wallet at the right place at the right time that I slightly narrowed my eyes on her.

Emerald looked at me back and shown some noticeable apprehension. Her face went back to donning a more positive expression after she was greeted by Pyrrha. "Hello again, Emerald! How are you doing today?"

"I'm having a great time, the festival has always been my favorite. By the way, you guys did great back there."

I stopped glaring at her and gave her a reassuring face, "Thanks, it was quite fun." Well, at least as defined by your average thrill-seeking Huntsman. "How about your match? Sorry, we weren't able to see it. How did it go?"

"It went really well, thank you for asking," she answered brightly.

"That's great, it appears you will be proceeding to the double rounds with us," Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, I look forward to it. Merc and I would be representing our team, we've been practicing hard for this."

"Cool, Jaune and Pyrrha would also be the pair that would for us in the next round." Nora chimed in.

"Really? Shucks. Oh well, I guess second place won't bad then." Emerald jested.

We all shared a laugh. Given Pyrrha's stature along with mine, almost everyone expected us to win that it won't be a surprise if our opponents forfeited knowing that all their efforts would be in vain. But the thought of everyone literally betting their money on us has made me more anxious. So not only I have to preserve my family's honor and image, but I also have to save the finances of some gamblers depending on us. Hopefully, Pyhrra's winning streak would carry us out of any problems.

"So, how are your teammates?" I then asked.

"Cinder and Nico are busy planning for something _really_ big. As for Merc, well..." she glanced at her back where Mercury was standing in front of a stall selling boots as he sniffs with one of them. "He's being just... Merc." **[2]**

Mercury put the boot down and motioned next to his partner, "Yo, I saw that you guys won. Not really that surprising, is it?"

Gotta live up to a name. "It took a bit of sweat, but we showed them what we're made of." I replied before taking note of his subtle voice change, "And is it just me or you sound a little different since we last spoke?"

"Yeah, you kinda sound like Ren as if he was dark and brooding."

"Wait, what?" Ren blinked at her.

Mercury coughed, "Now that you've mentioned it, I knew something weird happened to my voice."

"It's probably because you finally passed your late puberty." Emerald gibed.

"Hey!" he yelled as Emerald smirked at him before he turned back on me to ask more questions. "So, when are you going to do more hero stuff?"

I shuddered a bit with the question, but I remained calm and composed and answered confidently as he expected from someone of my stature. "When there's trouble nearby. I'm just around the neighborhood in case somebody needs help."

"I see," He cupped his chin. "You're like a real-life superhero. No wonder why everyone's gushing over you. Man, people would kill to be you now."

Yeah and I'm certainly not one of them. Dreams have a weird way of becoming true to an extent, and this one chose to become a reality far after I gave up on it. Since I couldn't do anything about it, I might as well capitalize on it. No dumb capes and speedos though; give me a peaked cap and a long coat any day. As much as I love X-Ray & Vav as the next nerd, I wouldn't want to dress up in public like them.

"Well, I feel a lot safer with people like you around," Emerald remarked. "Anyway, we're going to go catch some more fights, be seeing you!"

"Bye now, and thank you for giving my teammate back his wallet!" Pyrrha said.

"Don't mention it," Emerald said as she turned and walked away with her partner.

My conscience remained unsure about the two. I feel like there's something odd about them like my cheeks feel itchy when I'm around them. I continued to stare at them as they walk away. Emerald glanced back noticed me look at them. They kept moving until they suddenly disappeared when someone passed them by. Then I thought that I was thinking too hard about this and that I'm worried about nothing.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Ren asked, prompting me out of my paranoid musings.

"I'm fine. I was just spacing out." I answered as I let go of those two from my thoughts. "Let's just keep moving."

We resumed walking around and explored the fairgrounds until we spotted Team RWBY at a noodle stand called 'Simple Wok Noodles'. They were part of the next match, so we approached them to wish them well.

There were large bowls of noodles on their table; and in Blake's case, she got a huge bowl full of fish. The shopkeeper of that stand looked oddly similar to the one I sold my loot to, and I also remember seeing him near the crashed car during the day we investigated the White Fang. Either many of Vale's businessmen are skinny old men in aprons or I'm looking at the same person who has a lot of different jobs. **[3]**

The shopkeep suddenly threw back their credit card and pointed at his cash register that it was declined, much to the girls' disappointment.

"What? How can my card be declined?! I was barely into my monthly allowance." Weiss said as the shopkeep took away Blake's bowl of fish away from her. She lied her head on the table and lamented on it.

Looks like our friends need our help again. Pyrrha and I looked at each other and I gave her a nod. We all stepped in as she pulls out her own card. "Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha asked as their heads turned to us.

"Hey, guys! Why I'm glad to see you!" Ruby chirped, slightly bouncing off from her chair.

"Oh, you don't have to. You probably have done enough for yourselves back there." Yang said.

"But she could!" Blake said frantically at her partner before turning to us. "Please, I'm begging you. From one Huntress to another, I really need that bowl!"

Cats really do love their fish. It's not every day you see Blake like this, considering that everyone is too used to seeing her frown and be disinterested in everything that doesn't involve literature with fancy titles on the cover.

Pyrrha gave a short chuckle. "Alright, but we're doing it because we wanted to. That's what all friends are for, right?" she said as she went to pay for their meals.

"So, are you gonna eat with us too?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, we just ate a bunch of pizzas but we'll hang around for a bit," I replied just as Nora stepped forward.

"Well, I'm still not full from the pizzas I just ate. One large bowl for me please!"

Of course, she's still hungry even after eating almost half the pizza box; her stomach is deeper than a bottomless pit. "Okay then. You're the queen of your own castle Nora." I said as she happily sits down grabbed her bowl once the shop-keep slid it to her.

After minutes of Team RW_Y plus Nora eating noodles from their ridiculously sized bowls while Blake ravages a bunch of fishes on hers, they finally finished and were left with satisfied expressions from their meals. However, Weiss meanwhile kind of looked like her small stomach is trying to grasp everything she just ate, let's just hope it doesn't affect her performance for this match.

The four of us were sitting the side of the stand, with Nora rubbing her stomach and then suddenly making a burp from all the noodles she ate as I grimaced from repulsion.

"Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren decided to ask.

"Maybe, but you can't fight on an empty stomach either," answered Yang.

"Right, but this much?" Ren gestured to the bowls which were being gathered by the shop-keep as he takes them away from the tables.

"Don't worry, we ate a lot but not enough to give us stomach aches during the fight." She reassured him.

"So, are you girls ready?" I asked them.

"Of course we are! After everything we faced before, this will be a piece of cake." Ruby enthusiastically asserted.

"You're not wrong." Blake chimed in as she started to count with her fingers. "High-level Grimm, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath, a mad scientist, his robot army and experiments..."

"And that's all while we're still in training! Oh, imagine what it would be like to graduate!" Ruby excitedly gushed.

That is something I have been trying not to think about since the first week. With all the increasingly ridiculous threats I'm forced to deal with, I won't be surprised if end up facing something worse but I'll be VERY annoyed. I really just hope the payoff is worth enough to fund my own worry-free vacation from all of this nonsense. I only have a few more months until the school year ends, so I just have to hold on for a bit, at least I no longer have to worry about passing written exams.

"Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal." Weiss mumbled, "I'm just glad we're back on participating friendly matches like normal students. It's refreshing to take on people who aren't criminals for once."

She couldn't have been more right with that. Pit me with dumb kids over any type of ruthless killers any day. This might be why I'm wasn't that bothered for putting myself to the double rounds. "You have no idea…" I sighed.

All of our attention was then grabbed when we all heard Professor Port's voice on the academy's P.A. "Would Team RWBY please report to the battlegrounds immediately!"

"Here it goes," Ruby said as she stood from her chair as her teammates follow.

"Good luck and fight well," Pyrrha said, giving them all an encouraging smile.

"You betcha, P-Money." Yang nodded as she adjusted her gauntlets. "This is what we've all been waiting for."

"Show 'em no mercy, you guys!" Nora shouted at the four as they leave for the arena, Nora then she felt her stomach hurt after everything she ate. "I think I need to use the bathroom," she then quickly bolted away.

Nora was able to get bet back after a few minutes and we all lined up for an airship to the coliseum. The line was packed full of students, with some of them eyeing us, particularly me and Pyrrha. A few of them even greeted me, congratulating my team on our recent win and I recall one of them uncontrollably squealing my name. I politely greeted back and smiled at them, they all seemed to be very delighted to have been waved back by their idol that I swear that one of them almost fainted.

Such life as the Hero of Beacon. Gotta enjoy it until it eventually dies down. If only these people found someone else more deserving of this to fawn on.

 **=o=**

1\. _A phrase used before eating in the Mistrali language and customs. As mentioned Jaune mentioned shortly after, it is commonly translated as 'I humbly receive.'_

2\. _Actually, sniffing footwear is a perfectly legitimate way of determining their quality and value. I admit, that I'm also guilty of doing this since I care about the value of the clothes that I wear, including the shoes._

3\. _The latter is correct. Said shopkeeper only has one or two-part time jobs at a time but had to constantly move businesses due to continually being victimized of incidents that cause his businesses to close down or simply cause him to leave them. It is said that Simple Wok Noodles was the last business he's seen working on_.

* * *

After minutes of flying that almost made me lose my lunch, we finally arrived at the coliseum. We entered the arena and proceeded to the seats so we could watch our friends fight.

I noticed Mercury and Emerald walk to the other side of the arena, I still have the weird feeling about the two, but it's probably just my paranoia acting up again so I carried on and sat down beside my team.

The stage was still empty and some seats were still vacant, so there were still were few minutes to spare before the match begins.

"You know, I've been thinking." Nora suddenly began, grabbing all of our attention. "Maybe we should sell the movie rights about us after we graduate."

Ren raised his brow at her. "Movie rights?"

"You heard that right! Since we are getting more and more famous, we should get someone to make a movie about us! It would be about our exploits in Beacon. There would be drama, action, comedy, and romance!"

I don't know about that. I feared that someone would actually do that if I go too far since I plan on fading to obscurity once I graduated. By then, I already had my fun and I don't think anyone would want to watch a movie about me when we reach that point. Plus, I think our fans would focus too much on the romance aspect a little too much…

"Sounds like an okay idea. Who would play us then?" I asked as I hid all my doubts about it.

"Uh, us maybe? Why not we play as ourselves?" she shrugged.

"It might be a little fun, but acting is actually more taxing than everyone thinks." Pyrrha pointed out. "It takes more than just talent to act, you also need patience and willpower as you will have to endure hours of doing the same take repeatedly. Trust me, I have been in enough commercials and made a few movie cameos to know that. **[1]** A thirty-second clip can even take forever to shoot, I lost count with how many takes my last commercial took."

So I've heard, Noir and Blanche would tell me some horror stories that happened at sets. Let's just say that after they told me those, I crossed out acting as one of the professions that I planned to pursue. Also, I was rather surprised of Pyrrha actually making appearances in movies. I know it should be expected because she's a celebrity and all, but it was still surprising to hear. "You've cameoed in some movies?"

"Yeah, it still feels weird seeing myself in one, even if it's just for five seconds or so."

Nora rubbed her chin and contemplated. "Hmm. You might be right about that. But still, someone's gotta make a movie about us. It would make a ton of money putting the Hero of Beacon on the big screen. Wait, scratch that, forget Hero of Beacon, Jaune would become the Hero of Remnant by then!"

Geez, I hope not because being the Hero of an academy is already enough trouble than it is.

"Someday, Nora. Maybe someday." I mumbled while I hope it never happens.

Minutes have passed and there still wasn't a match. To pass time, Pyrrha filed her nails, Ren took a nap and Nora was playing games on her scroll and I just sat waiting for the match to start. I eavesdropped on some of the audience out of boredom but I couldn't make with what they're saying because they were muffled by the chattering around the arena. What I did hear was a nearby hotdog vendor who was trying to sell some hotdog sandwiches.

"Hotdog! Hotdog! Get your tasty, juicy, thick, foot-long hotdog here! It also comes with a special sauce! My wife loves eating em' every morning and every night, and I know you will too!" He was a slightly-overweight balding man in thirties to forties wearing a red-collared yellow polo-shirt, beige shorts and an apron while a tray full of hot-dogs was strapped to him. He then spotted us as he walked down the stairs. "Hey, aren't you the guys who won the last match? I heard victory can make you hungry. How about some hotdog?"

"No thanks, we just ate. But we'll consider it some other time." I politely told him.

He looked disappointed but he also seemed to understand why I declined. "Well, that's a bummer. But I'll be sure to come by then." He then left and went back to wandering around the arena for potential customers.

Finally, after waiting around for a bit, Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port began appearing on every screen around the arena and started to announce for the match to the excitement of the audience.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen; civilians, huntsmen and huntresses alike, to the Vytal Tournament!" Professor Port announced as the crowd cheered. Nora in particular, shouted loudly than most of the audience that it woke up Ren.

"Previously, fan-favorite Team JNPR defeated Team ABRN with a dashing display of skill and synergy; they will be proceeding to the double rounds starting tomorrow! Now will their fellow schoolmates from Beacon be able to do the same, or would the honor go the opposing team from Vacuo instead? We shall find out."

Doctor Oobleck then followed, "And before we begin, we would like to thank Chicken Crunch for sponsoring us. You can purchase for a monthly subscription to their channel for only five lien a month **[2]** and be the first to see their upcoming show, Rator Kings! Do not miss it out when it premieres. Here's an exclusive trailer!"

Thanks for reminding me, it's not like there were already enough posters and banners advertising it on the coliseum's corridors. Still beats sitting through boring generic pop concerts (no offense, Noir and Blanc.)

Naturally, I heard a few annoyed moans from some of the audience near me, including Nora. Couldn't blame them, I almost groaned myself.

"Oh no, not these ads again!" Nora grabbed her hair as if she was ready to rip it off.

The roof of the arena closed, shrouding the arena in darkness as a holographic screen appeared on the center and began playing the trailer. I looked around and saw a mixture of boredom, disinterest and maybe a few who actually looked excited for the show. Not sure if I'm going to see it myself, but if I was to watch this myself, then it would be because ads like these annoyed me into seeing it. Don't get me wrong I love mecha action as much as the next guy, but I'm not in a mood of seeing one especially since I already saw too many robots in real life. That, and I didn't like how shoddy the framerate was.

The lights went on back as the roof opened, and the screens went back to showing Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck in the press box. "And on to the match!" Professor Port announced.

The audience became excited again as competitors began emerging from under the stage with their weapons ready as the professor announced their presence. The crowd cheered at whichever team they were rooting for, with some boys audibly whistling on Team RWBY and girls squealing at the sight of the guys of Team BRNZ (Bronze).

Team BRNZ consisted of three guys a girl. The boys—namely Brawnz Ni, Roy Stallion, and Nolan Porfirio, were all using melee weapons. Some claws, saws and a cattle prod respectively to be exact. I remember Roy, the guy with the saws on his gauntlet, he was that guy who lost to Sky Lark because he was having trouble fighting with someone with a polearm.

The girl, May Zedong, meanwhile, was carrying a sniper rifle that looks seemingly straightforward and simplistic in a world where having flamethrowers and chainsaws installed on Helvetican army knives is the norm. What I found strange about her is that she is wearing an attire that isn't appropriate for a place like Vacuo. I'm guessing is that she started wearing those once she got to Vale as she isn't used to places that aren't warm as the desert or something.

The screens around the arena began focusing on Team RWBY. "From Beacon Academy, we got the most-acclaimed all-girl freshman team, showing what a sisterhood of Huntresses should be like. Ladies and gentlemen, Team RWBY!"

"Don't let their attractive looks fool you, folks. These girls are known for their exceptional skills combined with their harmonious teamwork. There is a good reason why they are viewed with high-regard in Beacon, including the staff their upperclassmen. These are the type of Huntresses that make the emotionless Grimm the taste of fear." Doctor Oobleck added.

"Good luck girls!" Pyrrha shouted to them as the four waved at us.

"And from Vacuo. We have one the roughest, toughest quartets of Shade Academy. Known for bold close-quarters combat whose combined strength was enough to break a large-class Grimm. Give it up for Team BRNZ!" Professor Port said as the Team BRNZ' fans started cheering for them. "Two offensive powerhouses against one another. Which of them will prevail?"

Both teams went into their combat stances as the screens began shuffling off the arena's environment. It landed on an icon of a tree with a green glow and what appears to be a mountain on the other.

A mountain with a few trees littered on it began emerging one half of the arena while a short forest surfaced in the other, it had a lighter shade of green compared to the other biome. Seeing how relatively simple the environments were compared to what we got, these girls were pretty lucky in my opinion.

"Three… two… one… Begin!"

The competitors engaged against their opponents. Meanwhile, May Zedong the sniper girl ran to the forest to provide sniper support for her teammates. She sprung to a tree, using her rifle's stock which was also functioned as an axe-head to swing her to a branch.

Yang engaged in a fistfight with the opposing team's leader, Brawnz. She blocked his claw strikes with her gauntlets as she stepped back before firing a few shots which he dodged. Weiss was meanwhile fencing with Nolan as they avoid their opponent's swings. Blake and Ruby both took on Roy, who was doing his best to hold off both of them. He leaped away from Ruby's scythe before strafing back and firing one of his saws at her. Ruby spun her weapon, deflecting the saw away as it flew back into Roy's vacant gauntlet. Roy proceeded to focus on Blake, who was blocking his melee attacks with her sheathe and katana. She stepped back and used her weapon's whip to sweep the floor and have him fall to the ground.

Professor Port commentated on the fight. "Team RWBY is now battling against the close-range combatants of Team BRNZ, but where is May?"

Suddenly a gunshot flew near her and hit a nearby rock, breaking it into pieces of rubble. I forgot to mention that May's weapon is actually an anti-material sniper rifle that uses fifty-caliber bullets, meaning it can ignore things such as armor and aura that a single hit would be an instant knock-out. Never underestimate the power of rudimental weaponry, as if my choice of weapons hasn't made that clear enough.

Blake managed to quickly detect the source before nodding to Ruby who used her semblance to soar to the mountain. Blake flipped back and stood still. May fired at a seemingly idle Blake, only for the bullet to fly through her as the shadow clone faded away. Ruby stood in the middle of the mountain and folded away her scythe before firing at May. The shot unfortunately missed and hit the trunk behind her, and May began to shoot back. The two then engaged in a sniper duel, trading shots with each other as May jumps from one branch to another while Ruby zoomed around the mountain.

"Ho, ho, looks like the snipers of both teams have found themselves in long-range combat against the other." Professor Port remarked.

"But wait, look at this!" Doctor Oobleck suddenly interjected as he spotted something that caught his attention on the arena.

It turned out that the sniper duel was actually a diversion to keep May's attention away from Blake as she sneaks to the forest. Blake used her weapon's ribbon to grapple herself to the tree where May was standing on.

Blake snuck up behind May and the latter did not notice anything until she looked back and saw Blake swinging her weapon toward her. She quickly blocked it with her rifle but she was then pushed out from the tree. May fell on her back and saw an image of Blake leaping toward her. She hastily began firing, only to find out that it was another decoy. She glanced at her side and saw Blake aiming her pistol at her from another branch. Blake fired at May as she began rolling away while changing her weapon's magazine.

Blake jumped down from the tree and stormed toward her while she continued to shoot. May stood up and returned fire, forcing Blake to zig-zag around as she ran. When Blake got to her range, May started treating her weapons as an axe and she deflected Blake's strike before the two began clashing in melee.

"That was an interesting turn of events, folks!" Doctor Oobleck commented. "It appears that Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna stopped May Zedong from providing sniper support out. Now she is being occupied into engaging in close-combat with Blake Belladonna."

"Speaking of close-range combat, how are the others doing?" Professor Port asked.

Both of the commentators shifted their attention to the others who were at the mountain biome. "Yang Xiao Long appears to be engaged with both Brawnz Ni and Roy Mustang in a two-on-one battle. Now I'm curious to see if Yang would reign as the superior brawler or if the combined strengths of Brawnz and Roy prevails." Doctor Oobleck said.

Despite being outnumbered by who are supposed to be proficient fighters from a high-temperature hellhole, Yang looked like she had the upper hand. She jabbed Brawnz, staggering him before she spun and delivered a kick to Roy behind her. Roy was stumbled back, so he launched his saws toward her. Yang blocked them away with her gauntlets before ducking away from a hook punch from Roy. She turned back and the two went back to trading punches with each other.

Weiss was still dealing with Nolan. She darted back and summoned a glyph as he rushed towards her. Turns out, that glyph ended up launching him to the air before Ruby flew in and slashed him away across the arena. While Blake continued fighting against May, she saw Nolan falling toward them. As May raised her axe and was about to strike, Blake bolted away and left still clone made of stone **[3]**. May ended up hitting the stone before she stepped back when she saw Nolan falling toward it. He landed on the stone decoy and broke it into pieces.

Ruby can be heard audibly yelling 'Ladybug!' as she descended toward the two with her scythe ready. Blake came out behind a tree trunk and dashed toward her opponents. May hastily aimed at Blake but before she had any chance to pull the trigger, Blake managed to slash her while running through. When Nolan got up, Ruby did the same to him. Blake and Ruby slashed the May and Nolan back and forth until their aura gauges reached below fifteen percent and the two could barely do anything other than getting helplessly sliced down.

"May Zedong and Nolan Porfirio have been defeated by aura!" Professor Port announced.

"And who can blame them? One would have to possess significant reflexes to avoid or counter such team-attack by two agile huntresses with the likes of Ruby Rose and Blake Belladonna."

"What will the remainder of Team BRNZ do now that two of their own has been defeated? This fight already feels decisive for Team RWBY unless they find a way to turn the tide of the battle!"

While Yang was still having a fistfight with Brawnza, Roy shifted his focus to Weiss. He tried throwing both of his saws at her as she summoned a barrier in front of her that reflected them back towards him. Roy simply caught his own saws with his hands and dashed toward her. He flailed his saws around toward Weiss as she swings her weapon to block them. Roy jumped and managed to knock her back after performing a dropkick to her face. Putting his saws back to his gauntlets as he starts revving them up he hopped toward her. However, Weiss was able to summon black glyph and propelled him to Yang and Brawnz while they were still fighting. Yang rotated back punched away him and his remaining aura to the ground, effectively knocking him off the match.

Brawnz was the only one left, and he understandably did not take that well. He suddenly roared to the sky and activated his semblance—Berserk. Yang turned back to him and struggled to block his attacks as they've become faster and stronger. After several blows to her stomach, Brawnz hit Yang's face and knocked her off to the ground with only a few of her aura left before she's out of the match.

He stepped in an attempt to finish her off, but before he was able to do so, Weiss began absorbing lighting dust as a golden clock appeared below her. He then turned and saw Weiss storming toward him with inhuman speed. Weiss blurred as she rapidly thrust her rapier at Brawnz but despite her speed, he still was able to retaliate with a strike that was just as quick as her, promptly disabling her time dilation since a single hit was enough to break the spell. Branwz then lunged at her and tried to clobber her with both of his claws. Weiss strafed back and raised a glacier of ice only to be broken almost effortlessly by him. He punched her in the stomach knocking her back until she hit the mountain's base behind her.

I don't know why, but I feel somewhat enraged after witnessing that and made my support for Team RWBY stronger when I normally don't put much investment into tournament matches that don't involve my team.

Blake and Ruby tried to rush in and help but stopped once they noticed Yang rising from the ground with her hair glowing. She began to march toward Brawnz. He turned to her and saw her crack her neck. Brawnz foolishly charged toward her and tried to throw a punch. Yang ducked down and threw an uppercut to his jaw. And with that one single punch, Brawnz was sent blasting out from the stage until he hit the arena's holographic ceiling.

"And that's the last of Team BRNZ. Team RWBY is victorious!" Professor Port declared, followed by cheering from the audience.

Brawnz then started to fall to the ground. Since his aura was dangerously low, emergency drones flew in and caught him mid-air with a net. They then flew down and dropped him next to his teammates that were staying in the corner after being defeated.

Better stay prepared for Yang then, especially with my plan to counter her dangerously overpowered semblance. There's a small chance that we might end up being matched against each other. I should remember that even Pyrrha struggled against her, even though it was in a food fight with no real weapons.

Team RWBY gathered together in the middle of the arena, celebrating their victory as they waved at the cheering audience. Yang's semblance deactivated and gave her sister a high-five before the latter bounced to the air. So they're going to the doubles round with us. Good for them. While I wish my sister team nothing but the best, I also wish for them to never compete against us and this exactly shows why.

Who could be next then? I asked as I checked the bracket on my scroll to see the contestants of the next match. The answer was… pretty amusing to say the least.

'Team SSSN of Haven vs. Team NDGO of Shade'

Oh brother, aren't I in for a treat.

 **=o=**

1\. _A few notable movie appearances of Pyrrha include: The Clash of Class, The Grimm Brothers, Praying With Fire, Mistrali Valentines, and Pumpkin Pete's Adventure Burrow._

2\. _That was before their infamous decision to increase the prices, and I shall leave it at that._

3\. _Blake's weapon—The Gambol Shroud—contains a module that allows her semblance to create elemental clones through the use of dust. It produces its substance after determining Blake's posture through her aura._

* * *

During the intermission before the next battle, Team RWBY sat beside us. Yang, in particular, was drinking a bottle of water to cool her head down from the temper she had from her semblance, as well as having an unopened soda can on her seat's cupholder.

"You guys really showed them back there, huh?" Nora asked the four.

"Yeah, to be honest, I was worried about what I did to that Brawnz guy; I must have hit him a little too hard. Thank Gods for those drone thingies, his aura wasn't enough to save him from that fall." Yang said with a chuckle before opening a soda can and taking a drink. "But hey, at least they'll get a medal with their team's name on it."

"You know that victory feels so good when Yang makes a joke that isn't atrocious for once," Weiss remarked, and I couldn't agree more.

The screens emerged once again as it shows Doctor Oobleck and a montage of knockouts from the previous match before it transitioned to a still picture of the victors. "Ah, well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this one will have them on the edge of their seats!"

The feed cut to Professor Port as he began announcing the new challengers. With a picture of Team NDGO. I have to admit, I never got tired of seeing their pretty faces, even if them being huge fans of me make it a little awkward.

"Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far! I'm of course talking about... Team SSSN!"

Yeah, as a friend of two of them who had once tried to flirt with all of the girls on the opposing team, I'm not sure who to root for here. Even though Sun and Neptune tend to act like buffoons, they're actually pretty okay guys, and there weren't a lot of reasons for me to hate them. But I wouldn't say I want them to win this match nor did I wish for them to lose.

The center platform of the arena was raised to the stage and crowds began cheering as both of the teams appeared facing against the other.

"Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with, and although he'll be representing the Mistral Academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along!" Professor Port remarked as high pitch screaming of girls (as well as a few boys) roared around the arena, some of them even holding signs and posters. I almost forgot that Sun, Neptune and their teammates were actually popular enough to have adoring fans. It begs to wonder where were their admirers when they needed them back at the dance.

"Good luck, Neptune. I guess…" Weiss cheered unenthusiastically as Neptune waved at the crowd, even sending some flying kiss that made some of his more adoring fans faint. He then turned to his opponents and noticeably started to flirt with them, despite making it clear that they weren't interested

Weiss expression went from lukewarm to spiteful in a matter of seconds. "BREAK HIS STUPID FACE, NDGO!" She stood up and pointed her finger at him, with some of the viewers beside us staring at her in bewilderment. So, I have to give the guy some advice to ask out a girl he likes and finally start dating her only for it to come to this in the end. What a shame.

I noticeably saw Team NDGO roll their eyes at him. They looked back at the audience and began happily waving when they spotted me. I smiled and waved back. I could even see their faces slightly turn red for a moment. We both kept waving until Pyrrha cleared her throat and I went back to sitting upward.

The selection of environments shuffled until it stopped with an orange icon of the sun above a desert. Dunes that stood on a sandy surface began emerging behind Team NDGO's half of the stage as the artificial sun began shined above the arena's holographic ceiling. Some viewers pulled out and wore their shades while others who did not expect it were blinded by the light. I guess Sun and the girls are going to feel at home with this one.

"Would you look at that. Hot gals going against hot guys in hot weather. I guess you can say this going to be… hot!" Yang jested, who was wearing her aviators. I'm pretty sure that quip also made some people's head hot because of how terrible it sounded.

The ice queen beside her was still lamenting about her 'boyfriend' if she could still call him that. "Ugh, I still wonder why I even dated someone who is afraid of water."

"Neptune's afraid of water?" I raised my brow.

The environmental roulette on the other half of the stage then selected an environment represented by an icon of a palm tree and a wave behind it. Neptune turned his head toward the images and appeared to be frozen in horror.

A small beach with a pirate ship wreckage appeared on that side of the arena, and Neptune was on the brink of almost fainting, which he didn't luckily for his team as it would have knocked him out from the match even before it started, but looking at Neptune, he looked like he wished he was knocked out.

I stared at him beyond belief with a hint of faint amusement. "I see now…"

Neptune Vasilias. Hunter of Grimm. Self-proclaimed genius. Inventor of weapons. Robber of some hearts. Victor of board games. A musician with a synthetic singing voice…is frightened by bodies of liquid. It was when I thought that the match was going to more entertaining than I expected. It's not that I hate Neptune, I think he's a decent guy beneath that obnoxious BMOC-wannabe persona, I just find this to be funny.

In fairness, the sea isn't exactly our friend. Don't get me wrong, I like swimming on the beach as much as the next guy, and I don't need to wear any dumb floaters to do so; I just to remember to NOT venture far out into the ocean, that's when you start encountering sharks and aquatic Grimm. The kingdoms made some parts of the ocean restricted from civilians for a good reason.

That still does not make whimpering over bodies of water that has more than a gallon less ridiculous.

"Three, two, one, begin!" Doctor Oobleck announced with all the contestants in their fighting stances, except for you-know-who who has his body pressed together as he stood. Glancing at his fans, they seemed very confused at his sudden anxiety.

As the match began. Neptune began dashing towards the highest rock on the biome behind Team NDGO and climbed at its peak in a pace that could possibly even rival Ruby's semblance. He was quick enough that it took a moment for Team NDGO to realize that he already ran past them and stared at him in confusion.

"Neptune, what are you doing?!" Sage yelled at him loud enough for the audience to hear.

"Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!" he answered, barely hiding his frightened tone.

"On the enemies side?!" Sun replied.

"They would never expect it!"

To be fair, no one did.

Team NDGO shrugged it off and the battle carried on with Neptune staying on the rock. The battle initially started seemingly on Team NDGO's favor—with Sage getting knocked away from the ring less than thirty seconds after the match started. It was one of the quickest KO's on the tournament, the reason why it wasn't exactly the quickest of all time because it was nothing compared to the current record holder where the match ended as soon as it even started. **[1]** Scarlet would later get knocked out as well—after a coconut hit his own coconuts as it drained his remaining aura. Ouch, calm down ladies.

Team SSSN was able to make a comeback, however. Sun was able to put Octavia on a beat down and convince Neptune to stop whimpering above the rock and make himself useful. Neptune was even able to eliminate the rest of Team NDGO by electrocuting all of them as neat as you please while they were still in the water, which might or might not have given them a good reason to fear pools of water as well.

"Ma' man!" Nora cheered as she witnessed Nebula, Dew, and Gwen getting electrocuted.

"That's gotta hurt," Ren said, nonchalantly as always.

"Luring your opponents to a body of water and then electrifying them once. Not bad," Pyrrha remarked.

"And with that, Team SSSN moves on to the doubles round!" Professor Port declared. "You know what I call that victory?"

"Shocking?" Doctor Oobleck answered. Of course, someone would say that, what a shock.

"No, well earned. What you said is stupid."

No wonder why Yang gets along with Professor Oobleck.

Well, after the all shenanigans with these two, I guess they really earned it. If you think about it, Neptune would really have been the smooth MVP of this match had not for his fear of water. He would have looked far cooler when he defeats his opponents the same way without whimpering.

Sun and Neptune waved at the audience before celebrating their team's victory by dancing to the upbeat music in the background, with Sage and Scarlet giving thumbs up at the side of the arena, the latter was still holding on to his injured crotch. Looks like he won't be making babies for a while. **[2]** Meanwhile, emergency drones lifted Team NDG_ out of the water before drying away electrified water on their bodies and escorting them out.

And that was the match. This day might not be a good day for Vacuans since Shade won't be winning any championships this year, but at least they'll have Sun to represent them.

"That was close," Ruby said as she sighed for air.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round!" Yang remarked.

The two victors were still dancing at the stage, being watched by an amused audience. Looking at Neptune doing an awkwardly eccentric dance made me understand why he was too embarrassed to dance that night, but it looks like that he doesn't care anymore. Good for him.

"That concludes the matches for today. Please leave the coliseum…" Doctor Oobleck ordered before suddenly raising his voice, scaring the blazes out of unsuspecting goers. "In a calm and orderly fashion!"

"Come on, let's go congratulate them," Yang said as she led everyone out of their seats.

After a minute or two, we arrived at the backstage where we saw Team SSSN getting congratulated by fellow students and even a few staff members.

"Thank you, thank you, you're all very kind," Sun said to them.

"Team SSSN is on a roll, folks! Everyone should give it up for us cause we're untouchable!" Neptune bragged.

"Yeah, that's what the ladies also call you," Sun replied.

"Isn't that ri—" Neptune smile disappeared after he realized what his partner meant. "Hey!"

"Hey, guys, great work out there!" Ruby praised as we approached them.

"Yeah, I love how you zapped them all at once in the water!" Nora chirped.

Neptune scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… I did."

"Aww, gee, thanks. I really hope everything we did back there was worth it for you guys."

"Oh, trust us, it was." I nodded.

"Congratulations, Neptune." Weiss stepped with a smile on her face.

"Oh, that was nothing, Snow Ang—" His ear was suddenly grabbed by Weiss as she pulls his head next to her eye-level.

"Be honest with me, am I not enough for you?!" Weiss furiously asked, fuming with anger.

Well, this is going to be fun to watch.

Neptune just stared in confusion, "Wha—what?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she glared at him.

"Okay, okay!" Neptune said as Weiss let him go so he'll be able to explain himself. He then cleared his throat. "Look, I really like you, okay. But as a ladies man, you know I have to give the other girls some appreciation."

Good grief, he's only digging his own grave. As amusing this was, I felt terribly sorry for him especially that he had to deal with an aggravated Ice Queen. Her teammates and I can definitely tell you how it is.

Weiss right eye twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

Neptune stuttered over his terrible reply. "I—I mean, to be honest. It's just… We're not exactly… uh."

"Not exactly what?" She put her fists on her waists as she leaned toward him.

"It's… uh…, it's really hard to put it nicely…" Neptune nervously said, "Especially with all the people watching."

"I think I already know you're trying to say," Weiss sighed disappointedly, "I always wondered why you left me on our date to flirt with another girl, now I know why." **[3]**

"Did you really have to say that in front of everyone? Look, Snow Angel, I'm really so—"

"Don't 'Snow Angel' me! If we're really going to be transparent with each other, then I'll let you know that it actually infuriates me when you call me that!"

"Look, can we discuss this later? I want to be honest with you, I really do, but this isn't exactly the best place to talk about us."

"Fine, but not because you said so, but because I'm about to meet with someone who is more important than you, you unfaithful aquaphobic worm!" she yelled before marching out of the exit.

"Hey, wait for me!" Ruby said as she followed her partner.

Neptune just stared frozen at Weiss dumbstruck along with everyone in the room. It wasn't until Sun decided to comment on the matter that the silence was broken. "Ouch."

"Okay… that was certainly something." Pyrrha said.

Nebula stepped in to make a half-mocking remark before leaving as well. "I hope you enjoy being a part of the Champion's Club, water boy."

"Ugh, I knew this would happen." Neptune murmured before he started hitting his own forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Hey, at least you have some fans that would be happy to learn that you might be single again.

"We all make mistakes," I said as I tried to cheer him up while patting his back.

"It's just… I should have told her sooner. It would have hurt her a lot less, and not to mention, this would have been a lot less embarrassing."

"You should have told her what?" I asked, even though it was already obvious at what's going to happen with their relationship. I thought I'd just ask.

"It's nothing. Just something between the two of us."

If that's the case then alright. I wasn't that interested in other people's relationship drama anyway. "Oh, okay."

"Hey Jaune, you're not busy tomorrow are you?" Sun suddenly asked.

I raised my brow over the question before answering. "Aside from the usual practice and the doubles round, I don't have anything else planned. Why?"

"Oh, good. We're going to need you with something. It's very important."

More favors; couldn't hurt I guess. At worst I'll probably just end up babysitting these two again. "What is it then?"

"We really can't tell you right now, so we'll tell you about it tomorrow."

Oh great, just what I wanted, more suspense and secrecy. Whatever this is, it better be worth my time because I'm getting really tired of playing hero just so everyone could keep kissing up to me, and I guess that refusing won't put me in a good spot now. "Alright…"

"Great!" Sun smiled before turning to everyone, "Well folks, I think we've put enough show on for today. So we'll be going now."

Sun and Neptune then left the room. Since there was nothing else for us to do in the Coliseum we left as well.

I'm still wondering what do Sun and Neptune need me for, get another date for Neptune I guess? Whatever it is, it shouldn't be that bad since these two are too harmless (or too dumb) enough to put me in trouble. The day during the investigation didn't count because it was mostly the girls' fault that I got dragged in there.

 **=o=**

1\. _The record holder during that time was the singles match between Zahra Azar and Cole Whittaker during the 34th Biennial Tournament. It was infamous for lasting for only 0.81 seconds with Azar coming out as the victor. This was due to Whittaker being vulnerable to fire, the element of Azar's weapon._

2\. _Given the type of man Scarlet is, he never has and never will, and not because he doesn't want children, mind you._

3\. _We went on a date to Vale's pier area. He once left me on a bench, claiming that he'll return because he needed to distance himself from the sight of the sea for 'a few minutes.' When I waited for too long, I went to check on him only to find him trying to flirt with a random girl on a sushi stall. I went back to Beacon immediately after witnessing that._

* * *

Ren and I went straight to the dorms after arriving back in Beacon to take a break from all the excitement of the first of the festival. Pyrrha and Nora, meanwhile, still both wanted to roam around the fairgrounds for a bit (and also because Pyrrha needed Nora to protect her from swarms of fans.)

Ren went to his bed and reviewed some notes before taking a nap while I relaxed at my desk. Updating combat notes and my journal as I listen to rock music that is decades older than me.

I eventually fell asleep on my desk when my fatigue finally caught up. My nap only lasted for about half an hour as the sky was still bright as I woke up. It was then I decided to take a short stroll outside.

Opening the dorm's door, I saw Zwei standing in front of it as if he was waiting for me for whatever reason.

Since it was Zwei, I braced myself as I expected him to pounce the moment he sees me, but strangely and also suspiciously, he just stared me at me. As relieved I was, there was just something off about Zwei not trying to attack me on sight.

Adding to my confusion, he suddenly trotted past me and inside the dorm. "Hey, what are you doing?"

He sat in the middle of the room before turning around to stare at me.

"What do you want boy?" To be more appropriate, I should have asked what was he up to instead.

He tilted his head as he continued to stare at me. Rolling my eyes, I opened the dorm's room and showed him out.

"Look, there's nothing for you here and I think Ruby wouldn't want you wandering around so…" I then turned back and saw that he suddenly was on my desk, standing on the chair. "Hey! What the—!"

He grabbed my journal with his mouth and then left the room. My exclaiming woke up an alerted Ren as he leaped up from his bed. After I shook head out of bafflement while wishing that Zwei painfully bit me instead of doing this.

I really want to like dogs, I really do, but this wasn't making it any easier for me.

I grabbed Ren's hand and bolted out of the room. "Ren, we got a canine committing a four-eight-seven and I'm going to need some back up your help."

Ren looked befuddled; understandable given the oddity of the situation. "Four-eight-seven?" **[1]**

"Just help me get Zwei!"

Ren didn't even answer despite his confusion, probably because he was used to nonsense like this courtesy of the redhead he's glued with, so he just simply complied and helped me chase down a maliciously mischievous mutt.

I wasn't going to let my undeserved reputation go to the drain all because of a stupid mutt. Attacking me randomly is one thing, but trying to expose my secrets was another, and I wasn't having any of it.

We pursued Zwei through the residence hall as a few students watch in confusion, mostly because there was a dog in the vicinity when pets aren't allowed. Getting chased by the boys of the famed Team JNPR while holding someone's personal journal just added to the oddity.

Zwei went through a door at one of the rooms, unfortunately, said door was the entrance to the girl's locker room. Ren and I hesitated. We both stared at the room and each other. With no other options, we sighed simultaneously before barging in. I thought I was going to lose some girls' respect for this but it was better than getting shunned by everyone after they found out that I wasn't being truthful and sincere about my stature at all.

The locker room was thankfully fairly empty, aside from Sandy Graves who was shocked to see us suddenly enter. Fortunately, she was fully clothed as it seems that she was only there to pick something up and she was too confounded by the appearance of a dog roaming with a journal to be infuriated by two boys getting in a girl's locker room.

After I found Zwei. I sprung toward him only for me to hit the floor as he darted away and leaped through a hopper window, which was just terrific because now I have to chase a dog on the campus where everyone is outside for the festival.

I got myself up. Ren and I then quickly made our way to the locker room. "You didn't see any of this," Ren told Sandy, who still looked like she was processing all of this. Good riddance, I don't need to hear anyone calling me a pervert when I didn't see anything revealing especially during a desperate situation like this.

We went through the back door, which was the nearest exit where we were at. I bashed the door open before Ren and I made our way to the campus. It wasn't difficult to spot a black and white corgi running on the open like a sore thumb while students step aside to make way for it, especially cat faunus, one of them even hissing at him.

He managed to enter the school building as someone left the door open. We pursued him around the corridors of the school, avoiding the passersby who just happen to be in the place.

Zwei was evidently heading down south to the front entrance, so we already know where he was planning to go. Since we walked around the school enough times to know the different paths that can be taken, I ordered Ren to take a shortcut that was right around the corner as I continued to follow the dog, he nodded silently before splitting up.

"C'mon, boy, just give it back. What did I ever do to you?!" I yelled at Zwei as I kept on following him in hot pursuit.

As he continued to make his way at the hall. He tackled one of the students and made her drop a vial of ice dust, causing a frozen puddle on the floor. When I saw the puddle I quickly leaped toward the wall and jumped above the puddle before landing on the dry, concrete floor and moved forward.

He then went past my two least favorite classmates, Russel and Dove. The two were weirded out at the dog, but when they turned to me, they began to smirk and started blocking my path.

Pricks. I thought. I continued to streak straight as I charged towards Russel since he has less body weight compared to his shut-eye midget of a friend. Predictably, he collapsed to the ground. Dove turned back and tried firing a spitball at me.

Come on. Give it up. You guys are obviously out of ideas.

Sensing it and also because of how predictable they are, I tilted my head away from the spitball and it ended up hitting an Atlesian student wearing an eyepatch with scars in his face instead.

Said Atlesian was unamused and started cracking his knuckles as he started to approach the two idiots, who began whimpering in fear. I would have loved to watch it if my rep wasn't currently at stake then.

Shortly afterward, Zwei was getting close upon reaching the front door. Ren appeared and then slid into his front. He attempted to grab the dog when ran past him through his legs, resulting in him tumbling to the floor.

I helped Ren get back at his feet before going back to chasing the dog again. Ren groaned, being a little displeased that the chase was still on. I couldn't blame him, I wanted this to be over with too.

We left the building as the dog kept on heading south, where the fairground was located. I had to stop him before he ends up causing more chaos than he should.

We continued to push forward. I sprinted as hard as I could that a normally agile Ren was struggling to catch up along with his fleeting stamina. Ren eventually ran out of steam and stopped as he held the nearest wall.

I noticed that he was no longer accompanying me. "Ren!" I stopped and exclaimed at him, I kept my legs jogging in place so I won't lose momentum. "C'mon buddy, we ran further than this!"

"Look, just go. I'll try to get the others to help if they can."

There wasn't any time to argue, so I just let him be and carried on. I ran as quickly as I possibly could to make up for the short distance I lost for stopping for a few seconds.

I later found myself at the front garden of the school with a large pond on the center; the place was rather notable by me where Ruby introduced her weapon, but now I'm going to remember it as the place where I chased her pet in circles, and he might as well be a weapon used to annoy enemies while snatches their stuff, if only he didn't recognize me as the enemy, that would have been nice.

After revolving around the pond a few times, I turned back and continued to see if I could catch him on his front while he was still circling, however, he was able to notice this and turned around as well.

One path leads to where the fairgrounds are located, so I focused on that particular pathway since I knew that the dog was likely going to head there and try to expose my secrets to my friends. Surprisingly, he didn't take that route when I expected him though, instead, he continued to head south toward the academy's courtyard.

The courtyard was packed full of people as there was some sort of commotion going on, but I was too occupied with saving my secrets to care about what was happening in there.

A few more people went in to see what's happening. I kept my sights at Zwei who passing through the crowd, starling those who suddenly felt something furry at their legs.

Rushing in, I did not notice Mercury leaving the scene in an apparent rush. We ended up colliding and knocking each other to the ground. Since I was still in an urgent situation, I quickly got back to my legs and helped him up. "Oh, Mercury. I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Hey, no biggie. I'll be sure to watch out for you next time," He replied.

"Thanks. I really appreciate that."

He smiled before leaving. "See ya'!"

Getting back to business, I went through the crowd before seeing what all the fuss' about while looking for the dog. There were two adults in the center of the courtyard; a woman who appears to be an older version of Weiss down to the same color scheme, wielding two swords; and a middle-aged looking man with a large sword who seem to have a similar aesthetic with Ruby. While it was quite apparent, I didn't find out they were actually related to them until shortly after. That's not even mentioning a destroyed Atlesian Knight laying on the ground with its head ripped off. Why were these two fighting in the middle of a campus full of people during the festival was beyond me.

I found the dog running into the stage while the two combatants raised their weapons as they were about to strike against each other, however, they both stopped as if they were frozen in time after seeing Zwei stand between them. Zwei barked, letting go of my journal before jumping into the man's free arm.

"Zwei?" The man gave a puzzled look at him as he unsheathed his weapon and held Zwei with both of his hands. Zwei then started affectionately licking his face.

"Zwei, what are you doing out here?!" Ruby shouted from the front of the crowd; Weiss was with her too.

"Ruby?" The man turned before Ruby zoomed in and hugged him while he was still holding Zwei.

"It's good to see you too, Uncle Qrow! **[2]** " Ruby said.

So he was her uncle? I genuinely would have mistaken him for her father had I started making assumptions earlier, he looked like he fit the bill. **[3]**

"Did you miss me, did you miss me?!"

The white-haired woman who Ruby's uncle battled a few seconds ago—just stood there, contemplating and not knowing what else to do. That is until she saw my journal laying on the ground and nosily picked it up.

Panicking for a bit after seeing this, I rushed in and swiped my journal from her hand the second she opened it to a random page, not really caring that she was some sort of elite soldier girl for Atlas so long as my secrets were safe. I would have asked her to just hand it to me politely but I went all this way to retrieve it from a dog that was bullying me and I was not able to calm down until it's in my hands again. "I'm sorry, but this is mine and it's private."

She frowned at me but she didn't do anything to retaliate. Weiss meanwhile, wasn't pleased in seeing this as if she was entitled to snoop around a random student's personal belongings without a warrant just because she's a high-ranking official from an influential family. At least she referred to me with my first name; she wouldn't have if we didn't make any progress to our friendship. "Jaune! You have such a nerve to disrespect my sister like tha—!"

"Stand down, Weiss." She raised her hand at Weiss, silencing her and making her step back. "I would have done the same if I was at his position. The secrecy of one's memoirs should be respected."

Though I would have preferred if she didn't bother with them, I appreciated her for understanding. "Uh, thank you."

"I apologize for that. My curiosities could get the better of me at times. Rest assured that I was barely even able to read a word from your private accounts."

"Well, that's a relief," I said, taking a reassured sigh as I put my journal in my pocket.

Now that pretty much settled how I am still able to write the very thing that is currently being read and why I haven't been burned at the stake yet since no one was still able to find out that my acts of heroism were either false or embellished. I sincerely hope that it stays that way because my life already has more problems than it should.

She stood elegantly. "In any case, you must be Jaune. _The_ Jaune Arc, I presume."

It's really that difficult to meet someone who doesn't recognize me at this point. "Yes, that's me." I nodded.

"Then it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Winter Schnee. I hope my attempted intrusion to your private memoirs did not leave a poor impression of myself. I wasn't aware that it was something personal and sensitive."

Yeah, this is why people put unlabeled memoirs in secluded places where no one else could find them. Someone reading into this very journal because they had no idea what it was is something I feared that might happen

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you too, Winter. Your sister mentioned you a few times." I said, noticing her sister make a flustered blush behind her.

"Ah yes, of course. And Weiss writes highly of you in her letters in addition from I've heard of you aside from the news coverage about your exploits."

"Hey!" Weiss shouted, her face visibly becoming as red as her partner's cloak.

Winter continued with a slight smile while maintaining her professional military attitude. "With that, you have earned my respect. Not many boys her age is treated with such regard from her."

"Winter, please!" Weiss ran in and grabbed her arm. Looks like she is losing her cool in more ways than one.

"I believe I have said enough," Winter smirked while her sister pouted at me.

Speaking of the others, Ruby's uncle approached me, with Ruby herself holding Zwei while I notice him glaring at me angrily. At least on her hands, he isn't going to try anything funny.

"So, this is really the kid everyone's been telling me about?" he asked as he stares at me with his red eyes beyond belief. His voice was somewhat rough and I swear I could smell alcohol from his breath. "The one which everyone keeps saying who'll win the award for Junior Huntsman of the Year?"

"Yeah, pretty much…" I said uneasily. Though, I'm still not planning on winning any awards since I don't want a trophy or medal reminding me of the crap I've gone through and all the people who have been deceived by it.

"You know, I pictured you be beefier; you would have made a nice clone of a certain friend of mine."

I gave him a confused look the second before I responded with a quip. "Your friend must really be a handsome guy."

He chuckled, "You're definitely Caiaphas' kid alright."

"Like father and son, I guess," I murmured.

"That's what they say. And just so you'd know, I wasn't talking about him; no offense but he's not blond enough to look like you." He smirked and patted my shoulder before going back to face Winter, much to my confusion on who he is talking about if he's wasn't referring to my father in terms of my looks.

Winter left her sister's grasp and walked toward him until they were a couple of yards away. "Don't think we're done yet, Qrow."

"Oh, I was just getting warmed up, Ice Queen," he replied.

I stood beside Ruby and Weiss as I watched their relatives continue their battle—verbally, this time. I was wondering what was going on especially after chasing the very dog Ruby was carrying, now I am seeing this with little to no context. Zwei was still growling at me but he eventually stopped after Ruby petted him.

"What's with them?" I asked the two.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Weiss answered while Ruby just shrugged.

It's pretty bizarre witnessing your friends' relatives argue like an old married couple, **[4]** especially if they went as far as to start a brawl with some collateral damage as evidenced by the few cracks on the ground—while everyone watches. Thankfully, no one appeared to be hurt (robots don't count).

The two kept going at it that they were close to grabbing their weapons, but before they could go for round two, an authoritative voice boomed in the courtyard. "That's enough!"

Everyone turned their attention to General Ironwood as he stepped into the scene, accompanied by some Atlesian Knights and most interestingly—Penny. Ruby seemed pretty happy to see her again.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter said as she stood upright to her superior.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"He started the altercation, sir!"

"That's actually not true. She attacked first." Qrow retorted nonchalantly.

"Is that right?" The general stared her down. Winter wasn't able to make a response apart from looking down shamefully. He looked around the area with everyone watching silently before making a glance toward me. Knowing that he has been taking interest in me for a while now and because of my last name, I was able to keep a stoic expression and conceal my anxiety while his imposing eyes stare at my own.

"And you," he then turned to Qrow, prompting him out from his relaxed stance as he approached him. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing," Qrow responded.

General Ironwood was about to say something before The Great & Powerful Ozpin interjected with Miss Goodwitch following her. Of course, he still has his coffee **[5]** with him. "Now, now, everyone. There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum, that I can assure you has better seats... and popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone!" Miss Goodwitch ordered to the crowd before glaring at three. "We will take care of this mess."

After a brief pause with nothing to be heard aside from a few murmurs from the crowd. General Ironwood finally decided to leave. "Let's go."

The general lead his subordinates out as he quickly glanced at me with a quick nod. "Mr. Arc."

"General." I nodded back as I made a concealed gulp. He's not a bad guy per se, but given how he was quite a fan of my father and had worked with him several times in the past, there's a high chance that he will try to recruit me or something, so I should keep watching my back for him.

Winter, Penny and the Atlesian Knights followed him out of the courtyard while Penny turned back to wave at us. Ruby happily waved back before Penny caught up with her superiors. The people on the crowd murmured for a bit before dispersing back to their respective businesses as well.

"And Qrow…" Ozpin called, grabbing his attention. "A word please."

"I think I'm in trouble," Qrow whispered above Ruby.

You think? I thought as I watched Miss Goodwitch pick up a large piece of the ground that was lying around and placed it back where it came from. Whatever just happened could have been easily avoided if everyone simply acted like rational human beings. But apparently, the Gods decided that there wasn't enough craziness today even though there were already a few bones broken at the tournament.

"You did kinda tear up our courtyard," she replied.

"Yeah, I did." He winked at her and they gave each other a fist bump before leaving "Catch ya' later, kid."

"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense," Weiss remarked to Ruby.

Ruby petted Zwei before a thought suddenly came to her mind. "Hey Jaune, why did Zwei come here with your journal?"

I gave a nervous chuckle as I thought for an answer. I looked as Zwei who still had the urge to pounce at me. I gave him a subtle glare before sorta answering Ruby's question. "Err… I think he was just playing around."

"Some games he play," Weiss remarked.

I mostly agree with that sentiment, but aside from that, all I could answer without mentioning animals' hatred for me was a simple shrug.

Pyrrha, Nora, and Yang then suddenly rushed at the moment I was about to forget about everything that led me here.

"Jaune, Ren told us that you needed some help!" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, what's the situation?" Yang asked before raising a brow at Ruby carrying Zwei. "And what's he doing here?"

Better late than never. Otherwise, things would have been a little more awkward. They were better off missing most of what just happened. "Don't worry, everything is fine now. Sorry if I scared you."

All of them sighed in relief, except for Nora who was still aching for some action. "That sucks, I was hoping to smash something when I heard you were in trouble."

I can sense that she's banned from playing Whack-A-Creep again, isn't she?

"I believe there's been enough of that for today," Weiss stated.

"So what's…" Yang asked as she looked around and saw some of the fractures on the ground that came from the recent battle. "…cracking?"

"Just a little family reunion," Weiss replied nonchalantly as if nothing disastrous just occurred.

Ruby, meanwhile, answered candidly. "Uncle Qrow is here, and so is Weiss' sister."

"Uncle's Qrow is here? Really?!" burst Yang. "Where is he now then?"

"He went with Ozpin to talk about something, but don't worry, I'm sure he'll come by when he's done," Ruby answered. "You should have seen him fight Weiss' sister. It was so cool! But then they have to stop when Zwei suddenly came in."

At least, she left out the part that involved my journal. Trying to explain that to them was something I didn't need.

Yang was rather surprised to hear about that. "Hold on. He fought Weiss' sister?!"

"Well, he provoked her," Weiss said. I still thought it was avoidable. No offense to them or anything, but I expected the Schnees to know better than starting fights in a place full of bystanders. "Don't worry, it wasn't too serious, at least for the most part."

"Don't tell me he's still drunk," Yang grumbled.

"He was drunk?!" gasped Weiss. Seeing the way he moves and speaks, I would have been more surprised if he wasn't.

Yang raised her brow. "You haven't noticed that, Ice Queen?"

"No wonder why his breath smelled terrible!"

"It's also funny how Uncle Qrow also calls her Ice Queen," Ruby added.

"So she's an older Ice Queen? Can't really imagine that. I thought she'd be cool to hang out with, bond about being big sisters and stuff." Yang said.

"I mean, she's kinda cool actually," Ruby admitted. "She fights with two swords and even has the same semblance as Weiss!"

"So your glyphs were family inherited? I got to admit, that's actually pretty neat especially since your semblance is pretty handy." Yang remarked.

"I agree. Family-Inherited semblances are quite rare." Pyrrha chimed in. "The fact that your family is possessing a remarkable one is a blessing in itself."

"It's all in the family." Weiss proudly said.

"Or judging by what happened recently, _it's brawl_ in the family." Yang grinned, followed by a few groans.

Weiss raised her brow, understandably unimpressed by that joke. "Can you even call that a joke?"

"Hey, you gotta admit, that was good."

"If you think that was good, then consider raising your standards," Weiss replied.

"Tough crowd," Yang muttered. Not really, we're just maintaining our good sense of humor.

"Hey, Jaune." Nora called, "Doesn't it make you think that you might have the same semblance as your parents?"

As much as I would love to have my instincts make me practically invincible or being basically fireproof, there is a very slim chance that it's the case. Besides, the latter was already proven a few years ago, and I really don't want to recount that moment.

"I don't know, Nora. All of my sisters have theirs unlocked and none of them remotely resembles either of my parents."

"Maybe it's a different case for you. We should try it out!" Nora smirked as she cracked her knuckles.

"No-no-no-no-no, Nora," I said as I restrained her. "That would be for another day."

"So Weiss. If I remember correctly, your sister's name is Winter, right?"

"Yes," Weiss answered, her eyes still narrowed at her. "What are you trying to say now?"

"It's just that, you can now say that Winter is in Vale."

I heard crickets chirp as everyone stares at her dumbfounded while she waits for someone to laugh at her sorry excuse of a joke. I just had to respond with something that couldn't be as horrendous as whatever that was. "It hasn't gotten any cooler, Yang. And by the sound of it, neither did your jokes." It was a little harsh, but someone had to say it.

The others giggled, I even made Weiss chuckle at that quip. Yang meanwhile, laughs it off like a good sport before pulling grabbing me with my collar as I saw her eyes turn red. "If that wasn't clever, I would have ravaged you for that."

If we're being honest, she's totally jealous that I'm much better at making witty remarks than her. Hell, I think everyone is a comedic genius compared to her by default, of course, that wouldn't be a smart thing to say at the circumstance. "Noted."

Her eyes blinked back to their normal lilac colors as she let me go. Nora, who was ready to lunge at Yang for abruptly seizing her 'fearless' leader, stepped back after that, which was a relief because I've seen enough fights for today.

After it was decided that there was nothing left to do there, we went back to our separate businesses. Zwei looked back and gave me one last growl as Ruby carries him out followed by her teammates. I responded by pointing my own eyes with two fingers before pointing at him, telling him that I will keep watch of him and remember this. After that, Pyrrha and Nora went back on the fairgrounds while I returned to my dorm and write and fill out what just happened while I have the chance.

For a time that should be fun and peaceful barring a competition that makes schoolchildren spill each other's blood, there are still plenty of things to look out for. It just shows that I will never truly rest until I'm done with this whole mess. The worst part is, judging by my actions, I am not making it any easier. But hey, what else could I do?

 **=o=**

1\. _The Gallican police code for grand theft. Jaune's other entries indicate that he learned police codes from Rose Arc and his father, both of whom worked part-time with Pucelle's sheriff department._

2\. _Humorously, earlier spellings of Qrow Branwen's first name in Jaune's raw writings including the ones in this very chapter are all misspelled as 'Crow'. This is coming from someone whose name was commonly misspelled until becoming much more renowned that such errors became increasingly rare._

3\. _Despite the resemblance and the close relationship between the two that spawned several rumors (or nonsensical hearsay if I were to be blunt), Qrow had stated multiple times that he did not father Ruby and he had no intimate relationship with Summer Rose…_

4 _. …Let alone my sister, Gods forbid._

5\. _They're still hot chocolate, in case anyone forgot._

* * *

 **And that's Day One of the Vytal Tournament, boys and girls. I hoped you enjoyed it.**

 **You might notice Ironwood suddenly taking interest in Jaune, the reason is already explained so it's not necessary for me to repeat that aside from the fact most of their interactions took place in between chapters. I regret not making scenes of them interacting prior since it made perfect sense for both of their characters, so I'll make it up for a later chapter and maybe in a short extra.**


	12. Funky Monkey Business

**Just a heads-up for those who aren't aware of it yet. If you downloaded the fic using the site's mobile app and keep getting notifications about the fic being updated when there are no new chapters, then it was just me updating some chapters. This was because it was letting you know that it was re-downloading edited chapters into their recent versions. Meanwhile, the desktop/site version, you don't get any alerts every time a published chapter is updated. You only get them when one of the stories you followed gets a new chapter. I'm telling you this because one reviewer said that he was getting notifications when there were no new chapters. After researching why, it turns out that he probably just downloaded the fic in the mobile app and it updated after I made a few edits.**

 **Now with that out of the way, in the next chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **Funky/Monkey Business**

* * *

 _Oh Mirror, Mirror on the wall_

 _Would you like to shatter and fall?_

 ** _-A spoof of a song by yours faithfully._**

"Millions in the arena, witnessing the greatest battle yet. Ladies and gentlemen, the violence, speed, and momentum are just too much!"

At least that was what Nora was thinking with her wild imagination or with whatever was going on inside that whimsical mind of hers. I might even go as far as to call her a role-player if I didn't value my own legs that much. Like most of her random ramblings, what actually happened was less impressive than what she described it as.

It was an intermission day for the tournament, these days takes place in between rounds so the participants can take a breather where they could practice and enjoy the festival while they're at it. So obviously I wasn't in any sort of a serious match despite Nora's babbling. In reality, we were on the academy's combat hall practicing for tomorrow's match by having a friendly spar while being spectated by a grand total of zero people. Not exactly something worthy of being called as a grand, ultimate, climactic battle if you ask me.

The rooftop where we usually practice hardly provided enough space to let us exercise our more ostentatious feats at its fullest. Not to mention, it was too open that it would be visible to everyone who was outside during the festival and it would have been too distracting. Luckily, we managed to convince Miss Goodwitch to let us borrow the arena for a couple of hours so not only we're able to practice comfortably with a wide-open space, we were able to spar peacefully too. I don't know if this was the extra-credit paying off or because it was too much to decline the offer from someone who was now overwhelmingly renowned, but regardless, I was glad that we were able to use it that the question never bothered me again.

It was me and Pyrrha versus Ren and Nora. The two do a great job of showing what kind of duos we should expect. If we could beat them, then it means we have a good chance of beating whoever is pitted against us. They were holding back slightly, but even then, they were still some pretty tough nuts to crack.

I parried away Ren's slashes with my sword, sliding my feet as I sprung back. I pulled out my pistol and opened fire. He stormed toward me as he zigzagged through the lasers. I quickly holstered my gun back before expanding my shield and swinging my sword at him. I was able to overpower him enough to make him fall down the floor. He then aimed his guns toward me and fired as I blocked his bullets with my shield in time.

Like Yang, the best way to deal with Ren was to drain his stamina. And since he was known to wear out the quickest among us, this should have been easy. Unfortunately, he was aware of this method and made sure no one would be able to take advantage of it by making sure all of his moves count. Looks like all the meditation he took is paying off.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was dodging strikes from Nora's hammer. Nora then tried to swing her hammer upward only for Pyrrha to hop on it and sprung to the air. Pyrrha fired at Nora with her weapon's rifle mode as she descended to the ground, causing Nora to dart back when she landed. Since she mostly had to rely on her hammer, the lack of grenades thanks to the combat hall's rules made the spar easier, but the downside to this is that I won't as prepared to deal with explosives when the real thing comes.

I continued to clash blades with Ren as we moved around the stage until I got him standing right where I wanted him: behind Pyrrha as she was facing against Nora. Nora charged at Pyrrha as she firmly gripped her hammer. With a single whistle to signal Pyrrha, she used her magnetism on Nora's hammer to swing it toward Ren as she gets out of the way. Ren was sent flying to the arena until he hit the wall.

Needless to say, this made Nora go berserk. She aggressively twirled her hammer to hit both of us as we surrounded her. She turned back and used her weapon's momentum to swing it at me. I was able to block it with my shield, but the impact created a shockwave that almost made me tumble onto the floor.

Pyrrha went on to strike at Nora, only for her to deflect her attacks in time. Nora then bounced on Pyrrha's shield doing a backflip before trying to clout me as she lands back onto the floor. I was able to dodge it by rolling to my side before it could hit me. Pyrrha threw her javelin at Nora before unfortunately missing. She then dived past her to retrieve her weapon and blocked another swing of Nora's hammer, slightly being pushed back.

Nora's back was open, so I took this opportunity to fire at her. The laser fire was just too fast that it was able to hit her the second she turned back her head and noticed it. The shot took a significant amount of her aura. It was all over after Pyrrha swiped the floor with her spear as Nora fell to the ground.

"Alright guys, that's a wrap." I clapped my hands, turning the lights around the room back on before facing my teammates as Ren and Nora got up while they recover their aura. "Good fighting, everyone. If we keep this up, I'd say this championship will be a walk in the park."

"You did great too, Jaune. You won't be having much trouble for the next round either." Pyrrha warmly remarked.

I couldn't help but smile back. "It was nothing. In fact, I think you're the one that's carrying the show."

She looked down as she sheepishly blushed. "Well, if that's how you see it then." She looked back up. "Still, it doesn't make your most performance less superb. With our skills combined and with your direction, we are unmatched."

"Yeah," I muttered as I internally struggled to push back my cynicism so I didn't have to think that she has low standards or were saying it because she had to.

"Feels good getting my butt kicked by you guys," Nora chirped as she cracked her back, "I can't wait to see you two fight tomorrow. You'll knock em' dead for sure."

"Heh. Not literally, of course." I snickered.

"Looks like you two don't have much to worry about then," Ren said.

"The only thing we had to worry about is who we would be facing," I said. The brackets won't be revealed until tomorrow when the matches start. I mused on the prospect that Pyrrha and I could be matched by someone who may be able to ruin our victory streak but it's best for me not to think about that now. "Aside from that, I think we're good."

My team followed me as we left the combat hall and headed to the cafeteria to take our lunch. When we arrived, Team RWBY was already there. Ruby waved at us as soon as she saw us entering the cafeteria while happily eating some strawberries. Weiss was sipping her tea, Blake was reading another book per the norm while eating tuna, and Yang was munching on her sandwich. I ordered some meatloaf while Pyrrha and Ren ordered an omelet and ramen respectively. Nora, meanwhile, just bought a whole bucket of chicken for herself.

We sat and ate alongside the girls. I bought my tanna tea bags, and put them in my cup and drank it once it was ready. I made a refreshed exhale as I tasted the blissful flavor of my drink. Weiss stared at me for a moment. She was still unsure about the tanna since I introduced it to her when we had cake and tea the other day. She once told me that she was interested in trying it, but she still wasn't sure if she could appreciate it as I do.

"Hey there, Blakey the Kitty. Whatcha reading?" Nora suddenly asked as she leaned forward from her seat, apparently not noticing the title on the book's front cover despite its large font.

"The Destiny of the World," she answered, never turning her eyes away from the book.

"So, is it any good?"

"No."

"Okay then," Nora said as she sat back down.

"So, who would be representing you for tomorrow?" Pyrrha queried after swallowing a piece of her omelet.

"The ice queen and I would be doing the honors," Yang answered as she stood up and patted Weiss' head. "Her brains and my brawn means a trophy for Team RWBY."

"Ohh! Fire and Ice. I like it!" Nora chirped.

"We've been practicing together a lot recently. Hopefully, pairing me with someone as audacious as Yang won't be a mismatch." Weiss said.

"Don't worry, your highness. I won't let you down." Yang said as she pinches both of Weiss cheeks as the latter does her best to maintain a straight face. "The only ones that need to worry are the unlucky shi—, I mean, schmucks who are going to get matched against us."

"You two will do great together, I'm sure of it!" Ruby chimed in, encouraging her teammates like what a good leader/partner/sister would do.

"I hope you're not wrong," Weiss murmured before taking another sip of her tea.

As I was nearly done finishing my meal, I felt my scroll vibrate. I pulled it out and saw that I got a new message from Rouge, meaning that she and Rose finally arrived in Vale. You can tell it was from her just by reading the way she texts.

'just got 2 Vale, lil bro. b sure 2 c us if u have time. well keep our location open 4 u. nor & blanh gona c see us 2'

I have been familiar with Rouge's texting lingo for a while now so I was able to read all of that straight, even then it felt like doing so still costs a few of my brain cells. I wished anyone good luck to all the innocents out there who are about to cross paths with them for more than ten seconds.

"Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, it's nothing. It's just that two of my sisters just got to Vale," I reassured her as I put the scroll back into my pocket and went back on finishing my lunch.

"Let me guess… Rose and Rouge." Ren reckoned correctly. I told my teammates about my sisters enough that they were able to identify which one I am talking about even if I didn't mention them directly.

"You got that right," I replied before taking another sip of my tanna leaf tea.

"That figures," he said. Ren and I tend to bond over the prominent female figures in our lives. Like I said a few times before, he is the closest thing I have to a brother.

A few minutes passed, Sun and Neptune finally appeared into the cafeteria. "What is up, everybody!" Neptune said. I immediately picked up the scent of his recognizable men's body spray. Smells like he still thinks that those things would win him some girls, but if anything it would probably drive them away, especially if he keeps trying hard like he always does.

"Hey there, guys!" Ruby greeted. Everyone smiled and waved at them, except Weiss who looked away because of a certain someone. Neptune frowned when he noticed this. Looks like it's officially over for them, isn' it? Eh, not my problem.

This is funnier if you saw that Blake actually let go of her book for a moment to flash a smile on Sun. It looks like the tables have turned for these two.

"How are you two lovebirds doing?" Yang quipped as the two boys approached near our table.

"Oh please, Yang, you're starting to sound like our fangirls." Sun chuckled at her playful, if juvenile remark.

I'm still surprised that you two even have fangirls to begin with. Though I can relate to how some fans like to push you into a relationship with someone specific, regardless of how you feel about it. It's annoying but it's something you'll get used to.

Yang gave them a teasing, asymmetrical smile. "Are your fangirls at least attractive?"

"Well, we can't say they're ugly, that's for sure," he replied cheekily.

"Fair enough," Yang chuckled.

"Good afternoon, Sun," Blake warmly greeted, much to the contentment from her friends that she's finally happy to see someone.

"Afternoon to you too, Blake," Sun replied before turning at everyone. "Since we just ate, would you guys mind if we just sit down next to you?"

"Of course. Your company is always appreciated," Pyrrha replied.

Well, to most of us at least, I thought as I looked at an agitated Weiss who was still trying her hardest not to acknowledge one of their existence. I guess she was no longer one of Neptune's fangirls, to put it nicely.

The two delightfully sat down on a vacant seat that was next to me. "So you're ready for that thing?" Sun asked me as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

His mention of that 'thing' with the lack of explanation made me raise my brow in confusion, "What thing?"

"Yeah, what's this 'thing' you guys are talking about?" Yang curiously leaned on the table.

"That thing," Neptune said.

I remembered the favor these two asked for the previous day and I presumed that was what they were referring to. But I still don't know what it was exactly. "Oh, that thing."

"Seriously, what are you boys up to?" Yang asked.

Trust me, Yang, I don't know either. I just realized that I'm gambling with what I'm putting myself into and I'm starting to regret it.

"Oh, nothing, just some stuff between us boys," Neptune answered.

"Sure…" Yang skeptically narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, just do what you're gonna do. It's not my business."

"Thank you, Yang," Neptune said before turning toward me. "So, you coming or what?"

"Well, I was planning on going to Vale later, so I might as well come with you guys," I said to them.

They both beamed. "Great!" Sun exclaimed, "We'll make it worth your time."

I sure do hope so, I thought. I'm still not sure why I'm even agreeing with this.

"Is this okay with you?" I asked Pyrrha for some reason, probably out of compulsive habit, mostly because I usually turn to her for questions.

She gave me a confused look. "Why did you have to ask me? It's not like I exist to keep you away from other people," she answered. With that answer, it made me wonder why I even asked. While she would make a pretty decent big sister (who just happens to have red hair… among other things), it's not like she's my mother or something.

"So does that mean if Jaune dates another girl, you wouldn't interfere?" Yang asked with a teasing grin, followed by a chuckle from Ruby while Blake curiously turned to her partner; Weiss made faint blush as she looked away once again and continued sipping her tea. Adding to the awkwardness, I felt a little embarrassed with that question so I tried not to think about it.

"What?!" Pyrrha exclaimed as the color of her face becomes closer that of her hair. "No! In fact, I'd be hap—"

"Not on my watch!" Nora stood up, with Ren putting a hand at his face. "I will not tolerate anyone who dares to get in the way of true love!"

Naturally, we all just ignored her; everyone already knows that there was no sense in trying to challenge her exceptional insanity.

"You mentioned that it's only between boys?" Ren suddenly asked. "If that's the case, can I come?"

"Never even thought of that. But you could if you want," Sun said.

Nora ate an entire chicken leg thigh with a single swallow and made a loud burp. It was then that Ren made his decision final. "I'm in!"

"Well, the more the merrier!" Neptune remarked. "Welcome to the crew."

I was actually also glad that he would accompany us. I needed someone else I could trust while keeping my rear guarded just in case. Naturally, it made me more confident with whatever I'm about to do for these two.

I patted his shoulder. "Good to have you with us buddy." He then smiled back at me.

"Aww, I wish I could tag along," Nora whined. "Oh well, I hope you guys have fun together, whatever you're up to."

Ren quietly cheered with a 'Yes!' as he faintly pumped his fist. Looks like someone's happy that he wouldn't have to babysit a chaotic redhead for a short time.

When Ren and I were done with our lunch we both stood up with Sun and Neptune and made our way out from the cafeteria.

"Take care, guys!" Ruby waved before we left. We waved back at the girls as we left the building. I hope Team RWBY doesn't mind hanging out with Nora for a bit.

The campus was still fairly crowded with the ongoing festival. As we headed to the Bullhead docks, I finally decided to inquire about the situation as I've been in the dark on this for long enough. "Alright, can you now tell me what this is all about?"

"Well, to start off, let's just say it involves detective work. We still have our junior badges," Sun answered.

I remembered the two shadowing crime specialists back when everyone was taking their first mission. I'm guessing this had something to do with that. Though, I was a little more curious about how they get to keep their badges when they should have expired by now. "You still have them?"

"Hey, we had a lot of fun then and they thought we did a good job, so they offered us some part-time work for a few weeks. We get to do more detective stuff and get paid for it," Neptune stated.

"And we kinda need your help with this one," Sun said.

So far, that doesn't sound bad. Helping out police investigations sounded pretty tame compared to most other jobs for Huntsmen **[1]**. The worse thing you could get into was to look at decaying corpses and get into brawls with some thugs (who usually use knives and bats, given that it's hard to get a hold of guns in Vale unless you're a licensed Huntsman). The more serious cases like serial killers and conspiracies are quite rare, and if there happens to be one, they are usually reserved for the more experienced detectives, something I doubt that these two Huntsmen-in-training are assigned with. "So, what's the case?"

"We were investigating a drug trafficking case that involves this gang, and… let's just say we're going to need some extra muscle." Neptune answered.

And that's where they lost me.

"Not to mention, extra brains," Sun added.

The gang they were referring better be a bunch of criminally inept idiots trying to act tough and that my fears better be exaggerating. Otherwise, I should pinch myself for blindly accepting their favor yesterday. "Did you two get yourselves in trouble?"

"No…" Neptune muttered as Sun glares at him into admission. "Okay, maybe a little."

"I'm pretty sure we kinda pissed off their boss for digging too deep," Sun stated.

"Couldn't have you asked for help from the police department?" Ren asked, stating the simplest solution at the time. "Especially if that gang is suspected of trafficking illegal goods."

"We could, but I don't think they'll be happy to hear that we kinda screwed up, which is why we asked for your help. We thought you could sort this out. You guys were able to stop a train and got that friggin' Torchwick guy arrested on the same day for crying out loud. We could use some of that. We've been doing this for weeks now and it would be a good time to finish it once and for all so we can enjoy the festival without any more worries." Sun reasoned.

Well, I know how he feels with that one. I guess it's too late to bail now. I'd end up looking like a cowardly jerk if I refuse now. I really should have seen this coming and excused myself yesterday. And I thought that meeting Rose and Rouge again would be a challenge, but when I thought about them, it gave me an idea. If I could get their help, then this should be as easy as pie. So I accepted the task. "Fine, I'm no miracle worker, I'll help you out, but just this once."

They both made a relieved sigh. "Thanks, man, we really owe you one," Neptune said.

"You kinda owe me a lot, if I'm honest," I said in a rather playful way so it wouldn't sound like I was annoyed.

"Yeah, but we'll try to make sure that will be worth it," Neptune reassured.

"Sorry if this bothers you." Sun apologized.

"I'm helping out my friends, I can't really be mad at that," I said as I sighed to myself with concealed agitation.

"Are you sure about this?" Ren asked me. If I'm honest, I don't know myself either. But if there were any reassurances, it wouldn't involve international racial supremacists or rogue scientists trying to empower Grimm. At worst, I'll be dealing with serious criminals, which I could just shoot in their faces for all I care and no one would care because vigilantism committed by a celebrity isn't as looked down as police brutality or something. I don't even think that Sun and Neptune could put themselves in situations worse than that.

"Let's just say I found another way to practice for tomorrow," I told him. Ren remained skeptical but assured that his reliable leader would take care of everything.

I really hope this works, it's probably the only reason why I haven't fully regretted agreeing to this. I'd honestly rather have Nora figure out what my semblance was using whatever death traps she could think of.

 **=o=**

1\. _That is if you ignore more mundane jobs such as courier work in short distances; guarding laborers in an already secured area, or even gathering dust and herbs for an alchemist._

* * *

While the city streets of Vale was still bustling with the festival going on, even then, it was still another average day for most people where they still have their own jobs to fulfill. So most of the celebration took place in downtown central while other parts of the kingdom remained relatively quiet despite a huge party happening around the corner.

Unsurprisingly, thanks to my fame, it was much easier to count the pedestrians that didn't recognize than the ones that do especially with my face broadcasted on television the previous day, and because I didn't bother wearing something other than my usual clothes and armor. I had to stop for at least every two minutes so I could be nice to my fans; take pictures, sign autographs and stuff like that. As annoying as it sounds—and trust me, it really was for the first couple of days that I couldn't describe how exhausting it was—I have gotten used to my celebrity status ever since it stuck with me for the past few months that being recognized by almost everyone and having to spend a few minutes to deal with them feels like another daily chore.

Sun and Neptune were noticeably jealous of the attention I was getting, especially if cute girls are involved, but it more or less reminded them that they have the Hero of Beacon on their company. Besides, at least they were able to get some recognition by having to encounter a few fans of their own, even if they were more focused on me. Ren, while far less recognizable with the public (not that he minds at all), was still able to his share of admirers. He was indeed grateful for them and their support, but he doesn't appear to feel anything beyond that. Must be because he couldn't imagine being with someone besides Nora, who speaking of which, was thankfully not there to drive away his fans. Ren deserved some appreciation from anyone outside his friends.

"You seem to be more awfully cheerful than usual," I said to Ren after we left our last batch we took photos and signed autographs for. We've been in the same team for the past seven months and I still wasn't used to seeing Ren in a jovial mood.

"It just feels so gratifying to be away from Nora for once," He answered. "Don't get me wrong. She will always be someone important to me, but I still need a break from her every once in a while."

I gave him an understanding nod. Everybody needed some time from someone they're entangled with for the sake of their health and sanity after all. "I can definitely see that, buddy."

"Besides, I needed to spend some time with you and other boys," He added. Good thing we were there for that.

"So where are we heading first?" Sun asked me.

"We're going to meet up with my sisters. If there is anyone who could help us deal a bunch of criminal tough guys, it's them," I replied as looking at my scroll map which has their location marked. "They're waiting at Joe's Diner."

"Your sisters huh?" Neptune made a perverted smile before wiping his hair. Sun noticeably rolled his eyes over that. There is definitely no stopping this guy from chasing women, especially since it's pretty much the reason why Weiss broke up with her. If he doesn't grow out of this soon, I doubt he'd last long in a serious relationship.

"How's did you and Weiss work out?" I asked Neptune. Even though Weiss' repulsion towards him earlier should have already answered that. I just wanted to hear from his side of the story.

He sighed for a bit. "I told her that we're not exactly working out. To be honest, everything between us was just a stupid fling. Don't get me wrong, she's really smart and pretty, it's just that I realized that she's not really my type. Besides, a girl like her deserves someone better."

"I see." It was all that I could say at the moment. I couldn't exactly quip at that especially since he was being frank with me as well as making a self-deprecating remark just to show that he's not proud of how he handled her. As obnoxious Neptune's lady-chasing persona can be, you got to give him credit for his transparency, which was one thing I lacked.

"You know, I really don't like talking about this. So let's change the subject a bit," He said. "I looked up you're laser pistol the other day."

That managed to capture my curiosity. "Oh?"

"Yeah, it's an Accatran Mark I Laser Pistol. It said that those things are still prototypes for the Atlesian military with only a few of them reaching into the public's hands," He stated. "So if that's the case, where did you get it?"

I gave him a conceited look. I wasn't able to show the gun at the moment because I left it on my rocket locker while I still don't need it yet, same goes for Ren. Sun and Neptune, however, bought both of their weapons since their badges gave them the authorization to carry them on public while they still don't have an official Huntsman license. "It's a trophy I got from one of my encounters with the White Fang," I answered. I was still curious about how I was still able to buy ammo for this gun in stores at a relatively cheap price when it's supposedly rare. **[1]**

"Nice. Just a suggestion, if you get the chance, you should try upgrading red lasers to blue. Because not only they would look cooler, they'll grow even more powerful too," he stated.

I lifted one of my brows. "How so?"

"Remember that grade science classes taught you that blue stars and flames are warmer than the red ones? Well, the same goes for lasers. It's because cooler colors like blue and purple possess the highest energy among the spectrum. In layman's terms, the higher the energy the particles have, the more powerful they are."

That was actually a very useful piece of advice. With all the moments where he made a fool out of himself, I almost forgot how smart Neptune actually was. He wasn't really bragging when he calls himself 'intellectual'. "I'll consider that. Thanks for the idea. Thinking about it, doesn't your weapon fire blue energy particles too?"

"My weapon? The Tri-Hard?" he asked.

"Wait, what?" There was a brief pause afterward. "You actually named your weapon 'Tri-Hard'?" It's actually a quite fitting name if you ask me.

"Nah, technically it was me," Sun answered before Neptune could. "He thought it sounded cool and clever for a trident. He didn't realize that it's because..."

"I'm a tryhard," Neptune groaned. "Har har, we all get it, Sun." He then cleared his throat before going back to answering my question. "It technically does, but as you know, it uses electrical beams; rather than lasers. Still, it packs a punch."

"Alright then," I said as I was slightly befuddled that someone as supposedly smart as Neptune never realizes what the name meant until after a period of time **[2]**. Not gonna lie though, that weapon comes in handy when used right, derogatory name or not. Yesterday's match made that clear. It would have been funny if he ends up getting matched against Nora at one point.

We continued to walk for a few more minutes as we get closer to our destination when Ren suddenly spoke. "So I've been thinking about our temporary team name while we're together; Team AWRN (Aquamarine)"

"Aquamarine?" I asked.

"Arc, Wukong, Ren, and Neptune," He clarified.

"Hey, that doesn't sound bad," Sun remarked. I'll have to second Sun on this, it's a very plausible name if we're group together. That, and I can't think of anything else better myself.

Neptune begs to differ, of course, because of what he's recently infamous for. "Dude, is there another name for us that isn't related to water?"

"It's the best one I could think of at the moment as far as having Jaune on the lead go," Ren explained.

Neptune groaned before taking a deep breath. "Okay. It's just a name. It's just a name. Don't think about water. Just don't think about water." He muttered to himself.

We all stared at him. For someone who is trying to be part of the cool kids, I don't think we'll see him in any pool parties soon.

"He'll be fine. He always goes through this," Sun reassured.

"By the way, who'll represent you two for tomorrow?" Ren asked.

"Sage and I got it. Neptune would have gone with me if he had stopped freaking out that he might be on another stage that has water on it," Sun answered as he glanced back at Neptune who was still trying his best not to think about water over our unofficial team name. "And the fact that Sage really needs to make up for getting knocked out last match that quickly."

Neptune finally exhaled and snapped out of it before chiming in. "Yeah, he wasn't happy about that."

"I really wish you guys luck then," I said to them.

"Thanks, we really appreciate it," Sun responded.

We finally arrived at the diner. You can tell that my sisters were here because Rose's cruiser bike was parked in front of the building. The diner had a very classic style of aesthetic, both inside and outside while having a streamlined design. Entering the diner, there were stools mounted on the checkered floor; in front of the counter where the waitress (who said to be Joe's wife) was preparing food for the customer.

It only took half a second to find Rose and Rouge sitting at one of the tables. Noir and Blanche were there too; they were wearing clothes that concealed their recognizable appearances from the general public, something that I sometimes do. Aside from them, the diner wasn't that much crowded with the only other customer being an old lady on the other side of the diner.

"Yo, twerp!" Rouge immediately noticed me when she saw me and the boys enter. She waved at me, prompting the others to turn around now that I was there.

We walked over to them. I saw that Noir was wearing a black baseball cap and a coat of matching color while Blanche wore a white dress and a sunhat; they both have shades resting on the table.

Rose and Rouge, on the other hand, were still wearing their usual clothes. Rose's plate contained steak and some eggs while Rouge was eating some nachos. The twins meanwhile settled for a milkshake and chocolate cake respectively.

"Good to finally see your face again, little brother," Rose greeted. It was nice hearing her accent in person again. "Friends of yours?"

"They sure are," I replied, "Rose, Rouge, Noir, Blanche. I'd like you to meet Ren, Sun, and Neptune."

"Howdy," Rose tipped her hat.

"It's nice to meet you," Blanche greeted.

"How do you do?" Noir followed with a bright smile.

"What's up, dorks." Rouge then greeted in her own Rouge-ish way as I expected of her.

Sun raised a brow, "Did your sister just call us dorks?" He turned to me and asked. I was only able to answer with a snicker.

"Yes, I did," Rouge said candidly. "Got a fuckin' problem with that, monkey boy?" Sun was slightly flinched by her response that may or may not be racially offensive against primate faunus all while Neptune continues to ogle at them. Typical.

"Oh, don't you fellers worry 'bout her," Rose reassured. "That's just her way of greetin' new people."

"I'm still glad we have her to scare away the press for us," Noir quipped, causing me to share laugh with her and our other sisters. Rouge seemingly took that as a compliment as she didn't appear to be offended at the slightest.

"Eh. You know what, I still think you're a bunch of dorks especially since your hanging out with the biggest nerd I know. But because that you're all pals with him, you're all fine by me for now," Rouge said and it's probably the nicest thing she said to strangers for a while now and the boys should be quite proud of that achievement.

Neptune made an impressed whistle at all of four of my sisters, "Hello to you too,"

I narrowed my eyes at him, under the impression that he would try something funny. My sisters gave him some weird looks which was an expected outcome, but other than that they didn't react much to his transparent attempts at flirting.

"Our little hero here told us a lot about ya, Ren," Rose said to him, earning his smile. "Just so ya' know, any friend of Jaune is a friend of mine. Thanks for lookin' out for him for all these months."

"It was my pleasure," he nodded. "Rest assure I have his back when he needs it."

"Ya' just keep doin' that," Rose said. "It's nice to see we could count on folks like you. He always needed some friends, especially someone who can act as a brother to him. Glad he finally found that again."

"I haven't let Jaune down yet and I don't intend to the same to you," Ren said as I smiled at him while patting his shoulder.

"That's what I like to hear," Rose said before going back on eating her stake.

"Hey, you two are Blanche and Noir Arc, right?" Sun queried. "The not-really-Huntresses-but-might-as-well-be popstar twins?"

"Correct," Noir nodded.

"Not to spoil the surprise, but expect us to be there for Jaune!" Blanche said.

"Nice. It's just that… I just wanted to say, I like really like your songs." Sun complimented.

"Why thank you," Noir said.

"You're welcome."

Though I'm still not sure if it was necessary to do a concert at the tournament for my sake, I'm happy to see the twins again, even if their stupid semblance motivated me into accepting my invitation to Beacon, as if the pressure I got from Dad's encouragements weren't bad enough. **[3]**

"I just realized, aren't the two of ya' fellers are from the team that electrified those girls on water yesterday?" Rose asked.

"Yes, that would be us," Sun confirmed.

"That was some fucking match," Rouge remarked. "I expected Team Indigo or whatever to kick your boyband-looking asses. But I gotta admit, I was really impressed to see you actually win when your chances were fleeting."

"That's right. That victory wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for yours truly," Neptune bragged as he made a seductive grin to show off his pearly white teeth to my sisters.

"Right, and aren't you the one who was also freaked out over water?"

"Uhh…" Neptune lost his cool as he made an embarrassed chuckle.H

"Well, good job facing your fears to earn that victory I guess," Rose said.

"Thanks, I really… risked myself back there." Neptune said before clearing his throat. "For the team."

"Ya' sure did," Rose nodded.

"So we've heard that you're the Hero of Beacon now, baby bro," Rouge said. "It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"I feel like 'The Least Insane Person in Beacon' sound more appropriate," I deadpanned before turning back at the boys who I might have slightly offended with that remark. "You guys are okay though." Well, sorta but I still found them to be more tolerable compared to most of the hectic student body who we call the next generation of Huntsmen, which was why I'm even hanging out with them.

"Have you finally gotten laid yet?" she then asked, causing Sun and Neptune to lean in curiously while giving me perverted looks.

I sighed before answering, "Still working on that."

"Huh. You literally have swarms of fangirls that are head over heels before you. I thought you'd be too nice and perverted enough to let them play with your sword," she teased.

"I'm not like that, Rouge," I glared at her. "Look I admit, some of my fans are really hot. I'd go with that if I wasn't uncomfortable with the idea of having my first time through my reputation. I'd have to be very careless."

That, and I didn't need some entitled bimbo or a group of them to accuse me of sexual assault once I entered that unwanted phase of my career all of a sudden even if I didn't do anything to my fans outside their consent. It'll be more likely to happen once my reputation goes to the drain as it's credited to carrots that they won't take kindly to learn that they slept with a fraud.r They would surely repay me by making my already-miserable life a living hell. I'm going to have to help my own case by not doing anything raunchy to my fans. Giving them high fives and hugs were already risky for me.

"Of course, he won't, Rouge," Rose chimed in. "Especially since he's savin' all of that for Pyrrha."

"Uh, no." I corrected, "Our relationship is nothing like that yet."

All four of my sisters gave shocked expressions. "Wait, you two are still not dating?" Noir asked before I answered by shaking my head. Like seriously, can't anyone perceive us as good friends for once?

"Well, that's a bummer," Rose remarked. "What the hell are ya' waiting for, Jaune? Just go for it already!"

"Yeah, I'm still looking forward to Pumpkin Pete's Special Love Breakfast with you and Pyrrha on the box," Rouge jibed. **[4]**

"By the Gods, knock it off, I've been hearing this millions of times on the streets and especially on the web already," I grumbled. It reminds me of the time when Rouge suggested that I bone Bleu's wife so she could have a baby that possesses Arc genes. Bleu wasn't fully opposed to the idea and I would have loved to get laid. But in the end, she ultimately rejects it and stuck with alternative methods to get a child. Besides, as much of a horny teenager I was, I still wasn't keen on the idea of fathering my eldest sister's child at that age and leave him or her because I did what I only came for (no dirty pun intended). It was a line I didn't want to cross.

"Oh please, go easy on Jaune. He's trying to wait for the right time." Blanche said before sipping on her sundae once again.

"Thank you, Blanche," I said.

"Jaune, if you don't man up and eat Pyrrha like you eat her cereal after the tournament ends, I'll show your friends pictures of you in ballet class," Rouge threatened. "Mark my words."

"Ballet isn't necessarily girly! How many times do I have to tell you that? I willingly took those classes to exercise my flexibility!" I exclaimed. I would have been lying if I didn't say I wasn't embarrassed when I first took ballet class because it's usually treated as a girls' thing, but I began to appreciate it for what it is. It's one of the contributing factors to why I even got decent training and I would have been less agile without it. Dad knew what he was doing when he suggested that I take those classes and I knew he wasn't trying to embarrass me.

Rouge folded her arms skeptically. "Yeah, sure."

"Is it bad I kinda want to see those pictures?" Sun asked before I glared at him, making him look back at me awkwardly. "Sorry."

I turned back to Rouge. "Say what you about it, at least I didn't have to wear a freaking tutu!"

"He's not wrong though, trust me," Ren said, backing me up. The implication that he also did ballet classes wasn't surprising. If anything, it explained why he was so nimble. "But let's not forget why we're here."

"Oh, yeah, right. As much as we're enjoying all this casual talk. We're here so we could use your help for something," Sun said.

"With what?" Rose asked.

"We were doing some detective work and we could use an extra hand in dealing with some serious criminals."

"You must have pissed off some really serious criminals if you boys came here to ask for our help," Rouge stated.

"Pretty much," Neptune said. "All of our investigations on a drug trafficking case point toward the Silverlock Street Triads. This was confirmed by an informant and interrogations from arrested members. I think they want our heads now. I don't think the PD is going to give us the back up we need to take them on, so we could use all the help we could get right about now so we'll be able to solve this case and not get killed."

"Wait, the Silverlock Street Triads? Why does that name sound familiar?" Rouge rubbed her chin as she began to muse.

"Aren't they those Mistrali guys who wear hats and red shades?" Rose inquired.

"Not exactly Mistrali, but they do come from an Animan region. That aside, that's pretty much them," Sun confirmed.

"Oh, those guys. So, we get to beat those fuckers up? Sounds good to me!" Rouge said as she finally stopped slouching from her seat. Good, the more familiar they are with what we are about to face, the easier this is going to go. I knew I was making the right choice by approaching my sisters for help.

"Well, there aren't any interesting missions available. We're in!" Rose said. "It's the least we can do to help out some of our lil' brother's friends."

I was put at ease knowing that the next few hours of my life will be made easier now that two of my more rowdy sisters have joined us in our mission to take down a crime organization.

Sun made a sigh of relief. "Thanks. We're really grateful for your support."

"Anythin' for my fellow enforcers of the law," Rose said. "Where do we come in?"

"We'll have to discuss it later in a more secluded place," Neptune said as he looked at a few of the other customers on the diner."

"We can talk about it in the motel room; it's not really that far from here," Rouge said.

"Then that's where we're going next, Sun said. "After you're done here, obviously."

"What about you two?" I asked Blanche and Noir, "I know you aren't Huntresses but you do know how to fight. Maybe you could just provide moral support if you don't feel like engaging in combat."

"Sorry, we're still busy for rehearsals for tomorrow," Blanche answered, "Good luck helping your friends clean the streets though."

"Just please don't get hurt enough that you might not be able to take the match," Noir added.

"Trust me, I'll be careful." I said, "Besides, you know me, I'm not going to let some city thugs beat me up that easily."

"You better be, little brother," Blanche said.

"Finally, we got something to do in this city," Rouge remarked as she gives a fire dust crystal a toss. "Looks like I don't have to wait for tomorrow to see something exciting."

"Rouge, if that drops into my coffee, I swear I'm goin' to make ya' drink it until ya choke on it," Rose said.

With siblings like these, I'm still amazed that we were able to live with each other for the majority of our lives.

After the girls finished their meals, we all left the diner. The twins put their shades back on before someone was able to notice them. They took a cab to their hotel room while Rose and Rouge drove away in the former's bike. Their motel room was only a short walk away so we'll be able to catch up in for in no time.

"Man, with all the women living your life. I'm surprised that you've still managed to maintain your masculinity," Sun remarked as we proceeded to walk once again.

"I have a very good father-figure, Sun. I think it's important for everybody to have at least one." I said, "I don't mind being a little feminine, but you gotta balance things out." With that, I can cook, sew, and do all kinds of domestic stuff while staying reasonably masculine. Dad said these traits should complement your masculinity rather than conflict with it, contrary to what some may tell you.

"I hear you, man. I hear you," he said, nodding.

"So any of your sisters single?" Neptune asked. I was rather unsure about his obvious intentions to pursue my sisters but I decided it was none of my business and I'll just let things happen naturally as they go for now. Besides, he only has himself to blame if he shows that he learned nothing from his date his Weiss and screws up again.

"Yeah, everyone you just talked to is single. Only two of my older sisters are taken." I told him.

He's was delighted to hear that, "Nice! I'm going with the cowgirl and the goth chick first. I'll show them a good impression once we start facing the Triads."

"Good luck with that," I said to him, especially with Rouge. There's a good reason why her exes are making sure they live far away from her after breaking up, literally—in one case.

And the Triads will sure learn why.

 **=o=**

1. _The dust cells the laser pistol uses as ammunition are quite versatile and were usually used as batteries for different types of machinery. Hence why they are commonly sold despite laser weaponry being rare at the time._

2\. _Because intelligence and wisdom are two different things, Jaune. It's quite clear that Neptune was lacking with the latter. Everyone who personally knows him is aware of this and I can verify that._

3\. _The Arc twins' shared semblance allow them to strengthen a person's positivity and willpower through their own music. The effect only applies to a live audience within a two-hundred meter radius. Due to this, they are often in collaboration with charities and humanitarian organizations to bolster the morale of their clients._

4\. _Velveteen, the company behind Pumpkin Pete, actually proposed a limited edition variant for Marshmallow Crunch called 'The Arkos Special' featuring both Jaune and Pyrrha on the box, prior to the idea being canceled for several reasons. It was planned to have a primarily strawberry flavor, which supposedly alludes to the relationship between the two. The company planned to offer Jaune collaboration (and by extension, sponsorship) with Pyrrha after they've confirmed that they were in a relationship before beginning production with the variant._

* * *

When we arrived at the motel, Rose was waiting for us in front of her room's door, telling us to come on in. The room was about as simple and ordinary as you'd expect; a humble motel room with two beds, a couch, a table, a T.V. and bathroom, and not much else to it. Even though the two were fairly wealthy from all the bounties and missions they took as well as taking advantage of the family treasury. The two were only planning to stay in Vale for a few days that they only needed a place that was good enough for the time being while they spend their money on other things. Not that I'm complaining. For all I know, they could have got lower standards and picked the crappiest, sleaziest motel in the kingdom to rent, but thankfully that wasn't the case.

The boys and I (or Team AWRN, unofficially) sat at the bed while the other girls sat at the other as we begin to brief and discuss the next phase of Sun and Neptune's investigation. If there was anything bothering me at the moment, is that Neptune was still dazing over my sisters and I was almost tempted to smack the back of his head.

"So to recap; the two of you were doing detective work for the police the other day and ended up snooping around with the Triads that it made them want to kill you because you're plannin' on shutting 'em down or something. So you asked for Jaune for his assistance, who in turn, asked for our help to help out with the problem?" Rose began, sitting on her bed with her foot on her knee.

"Yep," Sun popped as he nodded.

Neptune stops dazing on the two as he spoke up. "We were thinking about visiting their club called the 'The Crimson Panda' or something and talk to their boss so we can come to some sort of compromise. We thought we'd ask Jaune to help us out so the odds could lean in our favor for a bit. But since we now got enough manpower to turn their place upside down, we can now coerce them into admitting that they have been pushing drugs, among other things like racketeering and harboring goods so we can finally arrest them. That place was burned down to the ground before, it can happen again," He explained, finally acting like an intellectual he always claimed as even though I am not exactly keen on their idea of meeting a mobster in person because of my stature.

"So, you're going to the Crimson Panda? Good luck because that shithole of a club is where all types of the lowest scum hang out: conmen, thieves, murderers, rapists, drug lords, social media commentators, you name it. It's no wonder why that place got blown up before," Rouge gave input in a way in what she does best. Yeah, that definitely made me feel better about having to visit the place after mentioning what kind of people that place attracts. It just made me want to have the place blown up again and be done with it, proper protocols be damned.

She continued, "Luckily, you have us at your back, so what's the plan?"

"We'll still go with our plan on confronting their boss with Jaune on our side. Neptune told me these guys once made a deal with Torchwick. If the guy who's responsible for arrest was with us then it's easier for them to give in our demands," Sun proposed.

Or maybe it'll piss them more off since another person on their shitlist showed up to disrupt their operations which will only add to the potential body count on our side if this doesn't go well. On the other hand, I don't think they would risk killing one of Vale's rising stars at his prime; it will give them more unwanted publicity than they would get them shunned for doing that. I should take advantage of this, it's one of the few things I'm actually good at.

"I've been in the place before and trust me, it's a lot less scary if you're with someone they're afraid of," Neptune added.

"We should still remain prudent," Ren said. "The Triads are still one of the biggest criminal organizations in Vale. **[1]** If they are aware of this investigation then they're prepared to confront us as well."

"And while you'll be able to handle the goons who might or might not have an aura, you still have to watch out for the twins that bodyguards the asshole that owns that place," Rouge advised.

"Oh, right. Those two," Neptune said. Aside from Rouge's description, I had no idea who the twins they were referring to but if Neptune's blushing was anything to go by, they were obviously attractive girls.

"Twins?" I asked.

"The Malachite Twins. Those two thugs have Huntress-level training just like our other sisters. If you want to grab their boss by the balls, you'll have to get rid of them. They're the only reason why he even acts so tough in the first place," Rouge said.

Well, this just got a little complicated. I would have been fine with just threatening the big guy with the power of my fame. It's like Torchwick's pint-sized accomplice all over again. It made me glad that I actually called for these two's help, otherwise, we wouldn't last with this.

"Thanks for the warning. We'll make sure to be prepared to face them," Ren said

"Not gonna lie, I think they're pretty gorgeous," Neptune said.

"Here he goes again." Sun rolled his eyes, "Just save the flirting for the girls on our side and don't get distracted, will you?"

"So, where do we come in?" Rose asked, pulling out the Lustita, her trusty rifle and cocking the bolt, much to the perverted dazzlement of Neptune that I still find to be unsavory.

We then discussed the rest of the plan for an hour or two, planning on how to approach the boss who was apparently named Hei Xiong, mostly known as 'Junior'. Getting him to admit that he was behind the drug trafficking ring; get rid of his bodyguards especially the twins until the cops arrive and do the rest so we can all go home and call it a day. We even looked up The Crimson Panda on the holonet to study its exterior as well as the few pictures of the inside; and for what they're worth, we also checked some blog posts about the club especially regarding the gang, Junior and the twins.

Additionally, Sun and Neptune showed me evidence that confirms the Triads' activities, just to dispel any doubts that we might be pursuing the wrong gang. Some examples would be a photograph of a Triad member dealing narcotics with someone and transcripts of interrogations from apprehended Triads. All we needed to do was interrogate Junior and find a way to arrest him. Destroying the club was optional, preferably with little or no civilian casualties.

We decided against bringing the others. As much as I want to send an army to the club for a higher chance of success, the six of us were already good enough. It would be less chaotic and easier to manage, and also because Sun and Neptune won't have to get into any more potential trouble because of us. Though, we could have at least gotten Yang involved to maximize the pressure on them. Neptune told me that she's apparently responsible for its previous destruction and it definitely sounded like something she would do, given her record. But it was already decided that the party was full.

While not entirely that complex because of our limited information and resources. The plan was elaborate enough that we even have backup plans prepared just in case things don't work out very well.

"You think this is going to work?" Ren asked.

"It has to, Ren," I answered him. It's one of the most meticulous schemes I ever thought of and I made sure that if anything happens, we'll still be able to bail out and see another day. "It's the best we could think of for a situation like this."

"Well, I like it!" Sun chimed in, slightly bouncing off from the bed. "I don't know about you, but as a fellow team leader, I'm very positive that this is going to work." The vote of confidence wasn't really much but it at least gives me assurance that this would at least go well.

"The stakes aren't actually any higher than the ones we faced before," Ren said, sighing. "As long as everyone remembers their roles, then this has a very good chance of succeeding."

"Then it's settled," Rose said as she loads both of her revolvers and twirls them before putting them on her holsters. "Let's show these hooligans how it's done."

"I can't fucking wait," Rose said, tapping her baseball bat.

"Then should start preparing now," Ren said as he stood up.

"Great idea," I said, picking my stuff up from the table as everyone else followed suit.

As we all left the room. I took a deep sigh as I leaned on the balcony and stared at the streets below the fairly bright afternoon sky as a few cars pass by, still contemplating whether this was going to work or not while the others headed downstairs.

"So, are you still planning on bailing out of Beacon?" Rouge suddenly asked as she leaned me on the balcony beside me.

"Beacon's fine actually. It's Ozpin and his stupid assignments are what's bothering me. Besides, I'm almost done with this year and I'm eligible enough to skip every written exam so I might as well finish it," I told her in a somewhat disgruntled tone.

"I don't like the Great & Powerful Ass-pin either. He is a puppet for The Man, **[2]** no doubt," she said. Everyone on the family has something to say about him, I guess that's another thing to bond over. "At least he isn't in charge of this one."

"You tell me," I sighed.

"You seem to be doing alright for someone who got dragged in and unwittingly become his favorite pawn."

"I still can't believe I'm alive after all of that. Thank Gods I'm mostly done. I already have enough extra credit to pass this year even if I do nothing beyond this point aside from keeping my image," I said as I stare at the sky without looking back at her.

"Lucky you. I would have killed to skip stupid exams and ace school by doing those assignments."

"Yeah, life's pretty unfair sometimes. Now I went too far that my friends are counting on me to carry them out of this mess," I murmured.

"They chose you for a reason. And by the looks of it, those two boneheads made the right choice. If you didn't want this kind of attention, then why do you still keep trying to impress everyone?"

I looked at her with tired eyes, "It's not as simple as it sounds. It was either this or stain my own name along with the family. There's almost no third option to this."

"So it still sucks to be you. What else is new?" she said, it still definitely is despite supposedly living the dream of every naïve boy who needs to spend less time watching movies that might cause them to get killed. Some things just never change. "At least you're brave enough to go through all of this."

"Question is, how long can I keep this up?" I asked, raising my voice slightly in uncertainty and frustration.

"Gee. I don't know. I'm still not the best sister when it comes to giving advice. Just keep doing on what you're doing, I think. If it's the reason why we aren't mourning at your grave yet, then why should you stop now?"

I could do nothing but stare at her and think about what she said. She wasn't actually wrong, the status quo was the double-edged sword that was keeping me at the complicated situation where I was, but at the same time, it keeps me away from dying. I'm obviously not fond of it, but I still don't have any other situation other than to let it flow until I can figure out a better way of getting out this mess without having to ruin my name.

"And remember, we're Arcs. Our auras are bigger than our enemies egos combined. They'll break themselves before they'll break us," She added, reciting one of our unofficial family mottos. And these are one of the better-sounding ones, mind you.

I sighed before deciding to get this over with before I end up worrying about it too much that I would lose concentration on my plan. "Alright then. C'mon. Let's just get this thing started."

"That's the spirit."

We both exited the motel and caught up with the others as we began to make our preparations for our would-be assault. We have a few hours to prepare so we had to make use of all of it.

 **=o=**

1\. _Mainly because there weren't a lot of criminal organizations in Vale at the time._

2\. _A slang phrase that refers to people in power. Usually used as a derogatory term against an oppressive authority. Rouge and other Arc children were not fully aware of Ozpin's position in the council that time, making Rouge's word to be accurate without knowing she was actually correct with that notion._

* * *

Hours of surveying, supplying and practicing have passed and nightfall has arrived. The Crimson Panda was open for business and it was time for us to initiate our operation.

When we entered the crime-ridden streets of Vale's underbelly, I was anxious upon seeing its deprived atmosphere. The buildings in the area appeared either impoverished or dilapidated with half of them being covered in graffiti. The smell of smoke filled the air while most people on the streets looked like they were about to stab you and take all your money. Thankfully we were riding on a cab when we traversed through the place as walking through it would be difficult without any weapons for self-defense with the exception of a few dust crystals since we were all unarmed after I put Team AWRN's weapons in my locker as part of the plan a few hours ago.

We left the cab as soon as it arrived beside the entrance of the alley near Silverlock Street, where we would meet my sisters. As we got off the vehicle, we went inside the dark and smelly alleyway. The ground was littered with papers, garbage and beer bottles with a few rats crawling around. Clearly, traversing through it with barely any tools for self-defense wasn't exactly something you call a pleasant experience. Thankfully we reached the assembly point where Rose and Rouge were waiting before an unwanted encounter could take place.

The two were leaning behind the back of the building that was facing the Crimson Panda with Rose's bike parked at the side. "Good, y'all are here. Ready to get this thing started?" Rose asked when she saw us arrive, her familiar voice with its rural accent soothed us from the fear we were having.

"I'm ready when you are," I said before taking a deep breath, instinctively looking at my side for anything worthy of prudence, only to find nothing but a cat leaving a dumpster before facing them again. "Don't forget your cues."

"You worry too much, we'll always have your back, baby bro," Rouge reassured as she pumped the barrel of her dust cannon.

I nodded before giving my scroll to Ren as he would be doing the honors be sneaking it in, fooling the guards into thinking they have everyone's individual scrolls confiscated so we couldn't call for backup or summon our weapons. Rose then handed me her scroll to pass off my own, using it as a decoy for the guards to take away while Ren sneaks my actual scroll inside. We're going to need it to send the signal and get all of our weapons while it records everything inside.

"You are going to owe me a new one if something happens to this," Rose grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll get this back in no time," I said to her. Rose just frowned at me, noting that I didn't make any promises but was confident nonetheless, mainly because she had a high chance of getting it back anyway.

"Be careful, there are civvies in there just trying to have a good time," she warned. "Among the lowlife sons-of-bitches that hang out there."

"I haven't forgotten that," I told her. Innocents at the club were one of the obstacles we expected during the mission. Luckily we prepared something to keep them away from the incoming crossfire.

We faced the direction toward the club. I still had some doubts, thinking that this might not even be worth it. But I already made up my mind. Besides, it wouldn't be my fault that the club gets trashed again. Trafficking illegal drugs while threatening adamant investigators was already a recipe for disaster and we're just there to deliver. Even most crime bosses know this hence why they stay away from the stuff despite their value on the underworld.

"Here we go," Sun puffed.

"Hope this works," Neptune urged.

"Just remember your places and everything will go as intended," Ren reassured as he tried to sway any more doubts that could hinder our operation.

"Thank you, Ren," I said, nodding at him with approval.

"You're welcome."

We left the alley and saw the club across the empty street near the infrastructure. The electronic dance music that was playing inside could be heard outside the entrance, albeit slightly muffled. For a night club, the exterior looked relatively inconspicuous, barely looking different out from other buildings on the area. There was only a single small red neon sign depicting a bear's head with the club's name below it as well as two men wearing dark suits, accompanied with a fedora and red tie, guarding the entrance. And it was definitely something you'd expect from a shithole nightclub that attracts criminal low lives.

With a single gulp, we went through the streets and approached the two bouncers. To say that they weren't happy to us, particularly the two pseudo-detectives they were told about, was an understatement. "You two have a lot of nerve showing your faces here," The first bouncer said before they took a good look at me, "And who the hell is th—?" Their faces then shifted to nervousness. "Oh." I could feel fear on their eyes behind those red sunglasses that they were still wearing during night time for some reason.

"Hi," I greeted laconically. No need for further introductions since evidently my face and my clothes were enough to give them an impression of who they are talking to. The trepidations I've been hiding internally wasn't thankfully a part of that and I made sure of it.

"We just want to talk to your boss," Sun said with a forced grin.

"Don't worry, there is nothing on us. We don't plan on starting something." Neptune lied as I hid a crossed finger behind my back and gave the two bouncers a reassuring smile.

"Oh, of course, he was expecting you two idiots," One of them said. "Let me search you just to be sure. As you know, guests aren't allowed to bring any weapons."

We stood still as they proceeded to search our bodies. They found nothing from us aside from Sun and Neptune's junior detective badges, much to their mockery, and of course our scrolls. As predicted they forbidden us from bringing one of them inside in fear that we might use it to snitch their location.

"Since your friends have been snooping around, I don't trust you to bring any of these in so we're keeping them until you leave."

"Fine by me," I said, shrugging with a smile.

They then proceeded to confiscate all four of the scrolls they found from us, not knowing that the one I passed off as my own actually belonged to my sister. Ren gave me a wink, indicating that they were not able to get a hold of my scroll that he was hiding, much to my satisfaction. The lack of any resistance from any of us should have made them suspicious but it looks like they weren't paid enough to bother with that. They also failed to check if the trackers were off which made this club's downfall more inevitable especially since Neptune mentioned that the PD was monitoring their location while they're both active with the case. Good job fixing it, lazy bums.

"Okay. You're all clear to go," The bouncer said as he stepped back after he finished searching our pockets. "You're the boss' problem now."

Indeed he is, I thought, feeling smug underneath my friendly face.

"You're a lifesaver." Sun grinned at him. He was confused with what he meant by that but he immediately dismissed it as a weird compliment.

Ren briefly pulled my scroll out of his sleeve to assure me that it was safe. I smirked knowing that things are going well so far. Who knew the magic tricks Ren taught me for that stupid talent show would come in handy.

We finally got into The Crimson Panda. The music became much more audible as I got my first taste of the interior. The colors were mostly black and white with red being the most colorful thing the club has. The lights, walls, and floors change to one of those colors from time to time. I guess this is why they call it that.

Although it was prettier than what was outside, it was… aesthetically unpleasing if I were to be frank. My eyes felt like they were being assaulted by the place's ugly use of the color scheme, especially when it fades to white, it blinds me just by looking at it. I couldn't tell if it was a nightclub with an edgy theme or if I somehow made it to the fucking Grimmlands which is said to be hell's rooftop. I know that underground clubs tend to have this sort of theme but I'm pretty sure they don't even look this stupid. The fact that everyone was wearing the same colors including the DJ with his stupid ugly-ass bear mask that makes Ursae less of a pain to look at did not help. If terrible aesthetics was a crime then consider adding this to the lists of felonies this gang has committed. It made me want to trash the place and beat everyone up even more which was just the motivation I needed when I got myself into this crap.

Almost everyone stared at us, most of which were the thugs in uniforms who looked nervous and fidgety upon seeing the so-called Butcher of the White Fang or whatever walking around, stepping back when I go near them. Other civilians were awed and were chattering that the current white knight of Beacon was before them that is if they weren't whimpering in fear along with the Triads. Good, while I'm not one to brag and while I'm actually far from the scariest person hiding under bad guys' bed, I'll give them a good reason to be scared at me, just so I don't have to be scared of them myself.

We found 'Junior' when we saw him on a bar, sitting on a stool between his bodyguards. It wasn't that hard to identify him. His relative appearance made him stick out from his men even though he only lacked a hat and wore only a vest on his shirt. The twins sitting next to him made it blatant that it really was him.

"Hei Xiong?" I asked as we approached him. All the nearby henchmen faced us. We were perturbed by this but we were able to hide it especially since we were aware that they were just as, if not more scared than us, courtesy to my presence. I could have got Ren to use his semblance on me so my heartbeat doesn't have to race during this, but none of us looked like we were about to panic so it wasn't really necessary.

Of course, the first thing Neptune did was flirt with the twins. "Hello again, ladies." He greeted, winking. Unsurprisingly, the two looked away in disgust. I'm not going to stop him if that's his way of coping away his anxiety so long as he focuses on the plan.

Junior gave me a good look before he spoke, "Hey, aren't you the kid that has been making moves a lot recently? What are you doing here?" He asked before he looked at Sun and Neptune. "Oh great, you two. Still snooping as usual I see. And I thought you wouldn't show up. Guess I'm wrong." He looked back at me, "Need a drink?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Besides, I'm still too young to drink. Even if I'm old enough I still wouldn't be a big fan of alcohol. I like my lever just the way it is. **[1]**

"Are you still accusing us of hiding shit?" He said before rubbing his face with his palm. "How many times do I have to tell you dumbasses? I run a perfectly legitimate business here. You'll find nothing that you're looking for."

Yeah, right. Because a place full of armed thugs wearing the same colors doesn't give you the impression that this club was owned by a gang that had a record of involvement in illegal activities. I have been lying a lot myself to know that someone is hiding something from us. I could see it on his face no matter how much he denies it. You can say I've grown a lie detector inside of my mind. "Prior evidence says otherwise. You might want to fess up. They might even give you a more lenient sentence and they don't have to raid this place."

"Like I said before, we're not hiding anything. Even if we are—which we're not! Then what are you going to do about it?" He bellowed.

"We have a warrant," Sun pointed out. "Can't show it right now because my scroll was confiscated. We can search the place if we have to, like or not."

"You can wipe it with your own ass for all I care!" Junior slammed the bar's table, almost making the glass' spill. He then looked around and noticed that a few of his guests stopped whatever they were doing to watch them with unmistakably frightened looks. "Let's take this upstairs before you scare my patrons away, shall we?"

I'm pretty sure some of them already are since I noticed a few that left in a hurry when I started to show up. Considering what I've heard about what happened to this place before, they know what's up and I'll give them credit for being wise enough to ditch the place.

The upper floor he was referring to was the VIP floor. The floor was just a balcony with leather chairs that overlooked the dance floor. It barely conflicted with our plan so we didn't object and followed him there. Besides, the chairs were quite comfortable. Not to mention, the room space was relatively small which means it could only fit a few thugs for us to worry about especially while we still don't have our weapons yet.

Junior sat on the sofa with the twins between him. We sat on the chairs in his front while a handful of guards stood around. "Let me get this straight; you two bought in this guy because you think you could use him to scare me?" He said before making a chuckle. "If that's the case, then nice try."

We haven't even started yet, I thought. "I remember Torchwick giving me that look," I said phlegmatically, staring at his eyes, remembering that Neptune told me that he once made a deal with him.

The mention of that name made turned his smirk upside-down. Meanwhile, the twins looked somewhat impressed, simpering at me over what they just heard. "Perfect, I think getting another annoying blondie, and it's a guy this time," Junior complained.

"Wait, wasn't I the other annoying blondie?" Sun wondered.

Junior did not answer him, though by the looks of it he might as well be one to him. "It's really a shame because I kinda like you. You got balls, I'll give you that," He told me. As much as I'm used to compliments such as these, it felt weird hearing this from a gang leader who I was planning to arrest. "So what will it take for you to scram and leave us alone? Money? Women? Booze?"

I'm already low-key rich; I already have too many girls chasing after me that asking for more would be self-harm, and as I said before—I wasn't the drinking type yet. If anything, he was only digging himself deeper. "Now you're just bribing us. I don't think you'd offer me anything if you don't have anything to hide."

"Look, we don't do much. Outside of managing this club, we mostly just sell protection and export cheap LEGAL porn. That's it." He claimed.

Well, now that he mentioned it, I wouldn't have hesitated to loot the latter once I was done if the police didn't need as much evidence against the gang as possible, provided if that he wasn't lying when claimed that they were legal.

"If your businesses are about as legitimate as you claim they were, then why did you threaten these two to stay away?" Ren pointed out, slightly raising his voice from his usual tone.

"Because your brats won't leave us alone!" Junior snarled.

"And there's a reason why they won't," I said. "You're the go-to guys for organized crime in this town. Almost everyone knows this. It's an open secret."

"For crissake, even if that's true, we're still not hiding any drugs around here. We don't touch that shit because know it not good for business. We're just a club of gentlemen who want to give people a good time."

Right, and I'm not some secretly-wimpy country boy with a fixation for northern tea. If he truly was aware that drugs weren't good for business, then we simply wouldn't be here. Sun and Neptune showed me enough evidence for the contrary which is why I haven't bought his adamant denials of harboring narcotics.

"Like, feeding them illegal drugs?" Neptune asked in an attempt to sound clever. He ended up being too successful with that, to say the least.

"Now you're just pissing me off," Junior hissed as he stood up. "I'd be happy if you get out of here now. I'm giving you twenty seconds before I have to beat your asses up myself."

"Look, we're not here to cause trouble." I lied, "If we wanted to, we could have easily got in here with guns blazing. We just wanted to hear what you have to say about these accusations. If that's what you'll want then we'll leave. We got what we came for."

He leaned from his chair. "Good because you're not going to get anything from here, maybe aside from some ass-whopping if you keep bugging me. Now get lost."

We were about to stand up and initiate Attack Plan Charlie (send the signal, make as much damage as possible until he confesses, then let the police do the rest.) Even if we complied and left like he said, it won't stop the Triads from hunting us down because of how we confronted them.

Suddenly a Triad member arrived upstairs with some news for Junior, which happened to be very convenient on our favor. "Hey, boss. Just so you'd know, the latest shipment of obscura **[2]** just came in."

After hearing that, we stopped and stayed there for a moment. It felt just too contrived and the timing was just too perfect that I have to thank whatever Gods for that we were able to hear this at the right place and the right time.

"Right, right, right. Now buzz off, will you?" Junior insisted, faintly but noticeably panicking. The thug remained, much to his annoyance.

"Speaking of which, one of our girls said that she needs more of them. Her name Stacy, I think. She said she can't keep servicing any more clients without them," the thug continued to prattle, thus giving us everything we needed to confirm that Junior and his Triad playmates are indeed guilty.

Junior's face turned so red that he was almost close on having steam come out of his ears. "Alright, I get it!" By the way, my scroll was still recording everything that was being said.

"Oh, and some guys complained about the smell at the backroom gambling den." The thug kept spilling the beans that Junior lost his patience. He stood up and marched toward him. "We found out it was the rats that were hiding in the—"

Before he was able to finish, Junior pulled him by his tie. "I already fucking know about that, Zhou. Now take a break before I break you myself," he growled. There was a short pause there before 'Zhou' complied.

"Okay, boss," he said with a hint of fear in his voice.

After Junior let him go, he left and went downstairs. I have to thank this guy sometime. Too bad he must have ended up like any other thug in the area because he's probably the most cooperative gangster we encountered that day, even if it was unintentional. This guy should get a shorter sentence for accidentally snitching his gang, assuming if he's still alive.

The boys and I all looked at each other before nodding with a few smirks. "Okay. That was something. We're leaving now just like you wanted us to do." Sun said as we tried leaving the room.

"Hold on. How much did you hear?" Junior asked.

"Uh, you telling us to go away for the umpteenth time? We get it now. We're out of here." I jeered, technically speaking the truth. We tried to head for the room's exit only for some thugs to abruptly block us.

Junior chuckled. "Not so fast. Maybe I have something to do you first."

"Oh, and now you want us here," I said sarcastically while maintaining my smug demeanor beneath my apprehensions, darting glances at any potential escape routes from where I was at.

"I admit maybe, we do have drugs. How about I invite you to try them out," Junior continued as the twins stood up and they walked slowly toward us. "It'll help you forget."

My heart rate was beating fast that I swear I almost reached for my holster out of instinct even though I was well aware that my gun wasn't there. Made me wonder whose idea was this—before realizing that it was mine and I have no one but myself to blame. It made me thought that I should have refused when I had the chance.

"Whoa, hey, go easy on me, girls," Neptune said to the twins as they walked closer and rolled their eyes on him. It almost tempted me into using him as a human shield just so the twins would stay away out of repulsion for Neptune. I'm pretty sure he'll be okay with it as long as he gets their attention; it would have been a win-win for us both.

"You know. It's a good thing you were nice enough not to bring any of your toys," Junior chuckled again while giving a sinister smile. "Look, kid, I like you. I really do. It's why I haven't killed you yet. In all honesty, I'd hate to do that to you. Because I made a ton of money betting on your team and I feel like I should at least thank you for that."

You should have stuck with that then. This could have all been avoided and we didn't have to ruin your business, and I wouldn't have been in this mess.

He continued, "But as long as you have Pyrrha Nikos on your team, I don't need your blond ass. Sorry, hero, but I don't think you won't be able to take the match tomorrow."

While I was still somewhat frightened, I was becoming more annoyed with his taunting. Gods, he talks too much, I thought as I rolled my eyes. Before this could get any worse, I looked at the dance floor to see if it was clear and I saw that there were only a couple of people dancing at the side. I turned to Ren and finally gave him the nod. He got the message and entered my locker's launch codes on my scroll while he hiding it behind his back, without even looking at it. Sorry Junior, but we're about to crash this party.

I heard a beep that indicated the locker's launch, something the Triads failed to notice. I looked at the dance floor from the balcony to find the red beacon lights where it would drop at, only to find nothing even though the dance floor was fairly empty and we intended to aim it there when the drop radius was free of civilians. I assumed that it was because the lighting of the club made it less visible but after a few seconds—I found out why. And I felt very stupid…

There was a loud thud on the ceiling as a crack appeared while the ground shook slightly. The lights flickered and the music stopped, alerting everyone inside the club. Not a single locker dropped into the floor. When I realized that the locker actually landed on the roof because it wasn't strong enough to break through it, I lost my smug expression and held a palm at my own face. No wonder why I couldn't see the beacon.

While the Triads were befuddled at what just happened, I leaned to my companions and whispered, "Why didn't you remind me that the lockers can't get past hard roofs?"

"You sounded like you knew what you were saying," Ren answered with a shrug.

Yeah, well, it turned out that I wasn't. Dammit all, I'm really dense sometimes. **[3]** Not noticing that one critical flaw that would essentially botch the plan. Thankfully, this setback wasn't that bad. At least we could knock out the thugs and take their weapons in the meantime. Rose and Rouge would still get the signal and would eventually come in.

"What the hell was that?!" One of the thugs wondered.

"I don't know. Check the rooftops. It might be because those damn snowmen dropped something from their ships or something," Junior ordered. The thugs obeyed and left the room, giving us less of them to worry about when the assault begins.

Before a few of the thugs could go outside from the back door. Rose kicked the door open, knocking out the first thug behind it. She twirled her revolvers as she whips them at the other thugs. One of them tried to shoot at her, only for Rose to shove his arm upwards, making him aim and fire at the roof before his forehead got clouted by the grip of Rose's revolver. Rose uses the thug's shot as a warning for the remaining clubgoers inside. "Everybody out now!"

No need to call the cops. At least one of them would presumably do it for us. Even if they don't, the police would still inevitably come since they were tracking Sun and Neptune's scrolls after all.

Guests began screaming as they ran toward the nearest exit while the thugs started panicking as well. Sun summoned his light clones which he used to help us knock out the thugs in the VIP lounge before taking their pistols. In my case, I turned to the thug behind me before he was able to draw his pistol. I grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm as I pointed his gun toward him before pushing him down with my foot and taking his pistol. One of Sun's light clones did the rest by punching his face out cold.

Everyone was now armed after taking a weapon from an unconscious thug. Ren, of course, was still dual-wielding, holding two pistols he took from two different thugs. We aimed at a very furious Junior. "Gods-dammit, it's happening again! Get them!" He commanded the twins who both nodded and stepped in front of us.

We opened fire at them as they began deflecting bullets with their weapons that were respectively attached to their arms and legs. While we were at it, Rouge barged in from the front entrance, creating an explosion that knocks out nearby thugs.

"Yippe-kay-yay, motherfuckers!" she cried out before swinging a thug, making him fly across the room, breaking through two glass pillars until he crashed to a wall before falling off of it. "Home run! That's right. Run home to your mommas!" A few of them were actually smart enough to take her word while the rest were provoked by her.

Eventually, Ren managed to lure away the twins while Sun and Neptune went downstairs to help my sisters deal with the hostiles. It was then I noticed Junior aiming his rocket launcher toward me. I jumped away from the balcony and into a white tiled dance floor as his rocket misses me after upon firing.

When I landed, I looked up noticed the crack on the ceiling where my locker landed. It was about to crumble while the medium-sized disco ball was barely hanging. Junior caught up with me and faced me with his weapon turned into a baseball bat.

Without another word, I fired two rounds on the crumbling roof without looking up. Despite my blind firing, one of my shots was able to hit the disco ball's mount.

Junior was baffled, thinking that I was shooting aimlessly. "Was that supposed to scare me or someth—?" he spoke up before the roof crumbled and the disco ball fell on him, knocking him out unconscious on his own club's dance floor.

That's gotta hurt. With him knocked out, it made a significant effect on the Triad's morale. I noticed more of them routing to the exit after witnessing that their boss got knocked out. I didn't forget to take all of the contents of his wallet. He was carrying a lot, I presumed that they were drug money but it didn't matter. Money was still money and I could buy myself some new combat boots. These shoes that I was still wearing for some reason were starting to wear out. I don't think I'll get any bounty money after this but at least I know that I'll be leaving this place a rich man.

Along with some debris, my rocket locker dropped as its impact cracked the tile it fell into. It opened, showing off all the weapons stored inside.

"Oh, thank Gods!" I dived in and grabbed my sword, its sheathe and my laser pistol. I put my sheath and holster at my belt before spotting two thugs charging toward me with the intent to kill. I threw the pistol I took at the first thug and it hit his head hard, making him fall to the ground as his hat fell off, making his bleeding forehead visible. I took my laspistol from my holster and shot the other one in the face.

Ren, Sun, and Neptune shortly came in and grabbed their respective weapons. They used their ranged function to fire at any thugs who were trying to shoot us down. One of the thugs even fell from the balcony and landed on another thug after getting shot at. I turned and saw that the shot was from Rose's rifle. She gave me a single thumbs up before going back to shooting.

My companions spread out, continuing to clear out other parts of the club. I looked at my front and saw two hostiles approaching me, only that it wasn't your regular run on the mill thugs but the dangerously attractive Malachite Twins themselves.

"Looks like Junior got beaten up by a pretty blond again, Militia." said the white one with the bladed heels. For a couple of murderous henchmen working for a criminal organization, they sounded like conceited high school cheerleaders. I wouldn't be surprised if Yang actually hung out with these two before. "I'm honestly impressed. Too bad we still have to punish you for making a mess, cutie."

And just when everyone split up. Perfect.

"Indeed, Melanie." the red-colored twin said to her sister as she readied her claws. "Nothing personal, handsome, but we have job to do." she stormed toward me while, Melanie, the one in white leaped above me and toward my back. I parried the strikes coming from Militia's claws as I aimed my laser pistol toward her behind me. I fired my laser pistol as she avoids it by sliding down, trying to sweep my feet on the way. I jumped above her and tried thrusting my sword downwards while she was on the ground, but she was able to slide past me before I could stab her. In situations like this, I would have used dust to my advantage, but unfortunately, I came here without anything in my pocket and there wasn't much I could weaponize in the environment against them so I was stuck with the good ole' hack n' gun.

I switched my pistol with my shield. I began swinging my sword and shoving shield at them as they deflect it with their respective weapons and vice versa. While the fight was taking place, they were arguing on who gets a piece of me.

"He's mine!"

"No, he's mine!"

You're kidding me, right? Girls fighting over me was something I'm still trying to process, but fighting over me while I fight them takes it to a whole new level. I would have actually appreciated if they did actually fight over me rather than just argue who gets the most of my attention; I might not even have to deal with them. On any other day, I would have been happy to have these two attractive women serve me, but at the moment, I was making sure that I don't get scratched or get stepped on by a bladed heel.

I parried away Militia's claws before Melanie leaped toward me as I raised my shield, pushing me back slightly. I collapsed my shield and drew my pistol, firing at the white twin. It prompted her to make backflips as she dodges the laser fire. I used my sword to block off the following scratches from Militia. I raised my pistol and aimed at her face, only for her to duck as tries to sweep off my legs and make me fall to the ground. I needed these two to be on a distance. Their fighting style has a huge emphasis on close-quarters combat so fighting in range wasn't presumably their best suit. Unfortunately, I think they were noticeably aware of which was why they were trying to keep me close to them as much as possible. If the others, particularly Rose, weren't so busy, I would have asked for help.

Melanie ran in jumped with the intention of landing toward me on her heels. Thankfully I was able to grab my shield and expand it as she lands, making her flip back to the floor.

I stood up and faced the two. Sun and Neptune then came in beside me with their weapons drawn. "We'll take care of this for you, go!" Sun said to me.

"Aww, we were just having fun," Militia whined.

"Another time, ladies," I told them as I gave the two boys a nod before leaving the center of the dance floor. Sun was swinging his nunchucks against Militia and her claws while Neptune was whirling his trident (which I was tempted to call by its name) as Melanie flips around while trying to hit him with her heels.

More thugs with presumably terrible life decisions approached me with pistols, hatchets, and cleavers. I sprang toward the first person, pummeling his chest with my shield before using it to bash his face and knock him down. I switched my left hand with my pistol while the thugs charged around me. I whirled my sword around, slicing down the thugs that tried to come near me while I blocked their weapons, simultaneously shooting the hostiles that were in range. The laser fire blended well with the club's aesthetic so not many noticed it before it hit them. Blood began to paint the white dance floor red, not that it made much of a difference to the overall design of the interior. One of them tried to throw a cleaver behind me. I ducked right on time and it landed on the face of the thug that was on my front.

Ouch. I was wondering when they will try to throw a cleaver. You can't say you're facing Animan gangsters without at least one of them throwing some kind of knife at you.

To show that knife thrower my gratitude, I turned back and shot him in the leg so he would visit a jail cell instead of a morgue unlike some of his unfortunate comrades. It was the nicest thing I could do to a member of a criminal organization who attempted to kill me with a knife in a dire situation.

After I parried the thug's hatchet before slashing his torso, thus disposing of the last thug of that group, the DJ then ducked out from his table with a machine gun. He opened fire at me as I slid through the cover behind the pedestal of one of the glass pillars. I ducked behind it as the DJ fired at the pillar. Splinters of the glass rained above me while I remained in cover. Once his magazine ran out, I was clear for a shot. I stood from cover and fired at his head. Thanks to the ridiculous size of the mask/helmet, it was easy to hit him and he was killed with a single shot. He fell to the ground with a hole on his head. Can't imagine dying while wearing that.

I looked to see what the others were doing. Rose was still shooting gangsters left and right, sometimes simultaneously, getting rid of the last groups of Triads; Rouge was standing above the bar's table swinging thugs away with her bat before picking up a bottle and then smashing it an unfortunate goon's head. Ren was facing a bigger, fatter thug with a stature slightly taller than me. The fat thug tried clobbering him with his silver brass knuckles, only for Ren to dodge every single one of them. He managed to climb onto his back, making him walk around the place uncontrollably. Ren hit his head with one of his machine pistols repeatedly until he was knocked unconscious.

He gave me a nod as he reunited at my side. The club was running out of the thugs, with most of them either dead, unconscious out or have taken the hint and left. Rose and Rouge approached me as they were also finished with their respective fights; I gave the former back her scroll. The only thing left to deal with was the other pair of sisters who were still engaging with the junior detective duo. The fight looked like it was stuck in a stalemate, with neither side having any advantage, as if the fight was going nowhere. So I decided to speed things up for them, in my side's favor of course.

"Rouge, you know what to do."

She gave me a smirk before changing her baseball bat into its dust canon form, unfolding the charging handle from her bat as the muzzle opens. "Hey, Nep Nep!" she shouted.

Yeah, well, we really needed to work on our callouts, but it worked out so well so I didn't think about it much.

Neptune turned to us and nodded, acknowledging that he got the coded message. "Sorry, darling," he said to Melanie after swinging against her boots while she was on mid-air as Rouge fired a round of ice dust behind her and created a thin, icy puddle.

"Ugh. Don't you call me that, you ne—!" Melanie retorted before stepping back after seeing Neptune lunged toward her, not noticing the ice puddle that was behind her. She slipped and then slid across the dance floor before getting shocked by a blast of electricity from Neptune's blaster.

"It's intellectual, darling," Neptune said in a relaxed pose.

Now with her out of the way, it's time to finish off the other twin. "Rose, Ren," I said to them.

"Hell yeah, brother!" Rose cried out as she and Ren moved into their positions.

Sun was blocking off a series of attacks by Militia's claws using his staff. Ren dashed to the other side until the two combatants were in between him and Rose. Militia was puzzled upon seeing this. Before she could do anything about it, Ren and Rose opened fire at her.

Rose fired with one revolver and then switching to the other after its chamber ran out of bullets while Ren was shooting with both of his pistols at the same time. Militia's fighting style gave her very little room for defense so it was easy to overwhelm her with numbers that were more than she was expected to face. Militia was pinned down, engulfed in gunfire coming from both of her sides that it gave Sun an opening. Sun repeatedly struck her with staff while pushing her back. He then swiped his staff at her face, knocking her towards the floor along with her remaining aura.

Seeing as there were no more hostiles on the premises. We all panted. The club was now in shambles. Bodies of gangsters were lying almost everywhere, blood decorated the floor along with some walls, and all but one of the glass pillars were shattered. One of the spotlights on the ceiling above the dance floor even fell as we examined the aftermath of the fight.

"That's all of them," Ren declared, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"That was some party," Sun said as he approached us.

"Told you we'd make a mess," Rogue said, going back to the bar to pour herself a shot.

"The chief is going to yell at us, won't he?" Neptune asked.

"Ya' gotta send every lawless bastard a message though. The police will be thankful at least," Rose said before putting his elbow on my shoulder, "And besides, now that your reputation is gonna grow again, you can make every criminal wet their pants when they see ya', baby brother, which means less trouble for ya' for the future."

I exhaled deeply at that remark. "I hope you're right."

We heard sirens coming outside the club. A few seconds later, cops stormed in from the front entrance with their guns drawn. Thankfully I looted almost everyone here before they could arrive. "Freeze!"

"Oh shit, Five-oh is here," Rouge groaned. "Great. And I wanted to party in this place after we're done."

"Better late than never," I said, putting away my weapons while preparing to converse with them.

"Don't do anything stupid this time," Rose told Rouge as she holstered all of her weapons and instinctively put her hands up while holding her scroll which was displaying her Huntsman license. She was the only one among us who has one; this wouldn't be the case if Rouge didn't act so careless after graduating. It was enough to convince the cops that we're on their side.

"Whatever," Rouge replied.

The cops examined the area for a moment and saw the mess we caused. "Bloody hell! What happened here?"

"Junior Detectives!" Sun said as he and Neptune flashed their badges at them. "We're on a case. You can say it's more or less solved now."

"Did you blokes cause this?"

"Yeah, but we couldn't have done it without the help of these brave citizens," Neptune said, gesturing at the three of us.

"Oh, we're not exactly citizens," I corrected. "We're from the Gallics and he's somewhere from Anima," I explained, gesturing at Ren. "But you're welcome."

"Gods' crotches. Are you that lad from Beacon?" One of the coppers said as he recognized my face. "My daughter has been talking a lot about you."

"Yep. That's me," I said rather unenthusiastically before forcing a smile. "Just warming up for tomorrow."

"Didn't know you were this much of a nutter to actually take on this whole club. I can see why kids like you now."

"As usual, you hicks caused quite a ruckus in here," The police sergeant said as he stepped in. "There's going to be a ton of paperwork over this no doubt. I hope this is all worth it."

"Oh trust us. Not only there will be fewer drugs on the streets, but we also put a huge blow to one of the major crime syndicates in the kingdom!" Sun reassured. The sergeant was slightly impressed but wasn't fully convinced.

"Aside from the drugs their hiding somewhere here, they also mentioned an illegal gambling den somewhere at the backrooms," Neptune added.

"We'll look into that, thank you. Good riddance I won't be hearing much of these triads from now on. They've been bothering me for a while now." The sergeant said as he looked at the cops surrounding an unconscious Junior who was waking up.

The first thing Junior saw after regaining his consciousness was cops pointing their guns at him. I don't know about you, but I think that he wished he remained unconscious. His hands were immediately cuffed afterward as the cops do the same to the other surviving thugs.

"We're going to need a lot of handcuffs and body bags for this," the sergeant murmured.

Another officer suddenly came from the front entrance and called us. "Oi. Detective Huntley wants to see you. We'll take it from here."

I made an exasperated sigh. "Here we go again." The good news is that I'm finally done with that place. The lights in there are going to haunt my dreams but I'll feel better knowing that place is basically gone now.

 **=o=**

1\. _Given his taste for amasec that some of his comrades have taken note of in his later years, this did not age like the brand wine that grew to his liking._

2\. _An addictive hallucinogenic drug that puts the user in a dream-like state that lasts for a few hours before wearing off. Once the effect fades, the user will suffer into a deep depression until they consume another dose of the drug. The drug's strong addictive substance made it strictly banned in all kingdoms but is still being used by certain cults as part of their rituals._

3\. _Well, that took him long enough to notice that._

* * *

We took our scrolls back before leaving the club through the front door. Ren gave me back mine. After entering a code, my locker launched back to Beacon. Thank the machine spirit that the locker even came here, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do this ploy properly. And yes, I just praised a piece of technology's supposed spirit according to Ren and Nora's techno-religious dogma they were once part of. You can thank their contagious babbling and my dwindling sanity for that.

Cops cars were parked around the entrance of the club with their sirens still active. Ambulances and police transports arrive as they began shoving dead/unconscious/captured gangsters inside while barricades were being set around the perimeter. A familiar dark-skinned man in a brown trench coat was waiting for us in the middle; the very same cop I expect to meet after involving myself in a crime scene in the city. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping that this third strike won't mean that I'm out. Although he was lenient with me so every time I had to talk with him, this guy still means business and it was my job to expect the worst.

"Nice to meet you again, Mr. Arc," Detective Huntley greeted. "Still picking fights with the kingdom's biggest troublemakers even during the festival I see."

"And to you as well, Detective Huntley," I responded.

He turned to Sun and Neptune, who was slightly shivering at him. "Mind telling me what happened here?"

Sun gulped before he stepped in to explain, "We decided to confront the Triads concerning the drugs they were trafficking. We got helped with Jaune Arc here and bought his sisters to assist us. We're able to get the boss to spill the beans before threatening to have us drugged for knowing too much. And then this happened…"

Neptune followed. "We got our conversation recorded and also discovered other activities the gang has been hiding." Mainly thanks to that one idiot who wouldn't shut up. "It confirms everything concerning the Triads and I don't think they'll be able to carry on their activities after this."

"Well, that's one unorthodox way of solving it. This would have all been avoided if you simply just called for backup and informed us of the gang's aggression toward you," The Detective pointed out, making the duo step back in shame before the detective continued, "But if there's any consolation, it would have costed more police resources to get the same result as this. Property damage was inevitable and fellow officers could have risked their lives. We would still be doing a boatload of paperwork and endure the chief's temper either way. So I'm somewhat glad you didn't pick the obvious solution. I don't fully condone your action, but I don't believe the alternative would have been better,"

The two exhaled out of relief. After all the work and planning we put on, it's gratifying to know that we'll at least won't get punished for this. If the drug problem in Vale was as serious as I was told, then the police really owe us this one.

He shifted his gaze toward mine. "And thank you for assisting these two, Mr. Arc. Looks like they picked the right person for assistance."

I guess this was the part where I play my modest hero routine again. "Just here to give a hand to those who need it detective, especially my friends," I responded in my most typical Jaune The Hero way possible without sounding arrogant. I could see Rouge trying to keep a straight face after hearing that as they were already aware of what I actually thought about this.

The detective gave me a content look. "We appreciate the help. The police department could truly use more people like you."

"Joining the police is a possibility for me, sir," I said. If you think about it, being a police officer actually wouldn't be that comparatively bad. I know the job would be underwhelming for a Huntsman but that's the point. In case my heroic rep doesn't go away for some shit-flipping reason, I should consider becoming a cop, it's much easier wearing a uniform around Vale and catch people up to no good than going to the wilderness to face a major threat which I have seen more than enough for someone who's still training in his first year.

"Then I look forward to you joining us," he said before turning to us all. "By the way, all of you still have to visit the precinct and discuss the chief in regards to this event. You still have a few things to clarify before we let you go. I'm sorry, but those are the rules."

Sun sighed, crossing his arms. "What else did we expect?"

"That includes you, Mr. Arc," He said before turning to Rose and Rouge. "And I assume you're his sisters?"

They both nodded. "Rose Arc. Pucelle County Sheriff Department," Rose flashed a badge on her vest.

"Rouge Arc, at your service," Rouge introduced herself. "I'm definitely still a certified official Huntress with absolutely no record of any misdemeanors."

Here she goes again. Although she looks quite sober, that better not be the alcohol speaking out.

Rose glared at her in annoyance and stepped in before she could make things worse for all of us, "I know I'm outside local authority as a sheriff, sir, but as a Huntress, it was my duty to protect the kingdoms from any potential threats. And we did just that, didn't we?"

"Fair enough," Detective Huntley nodded, "At least I know that you can get things done."

We saw an officer dragging Junior toward a squad car. Junior noticed us as he turned his head toward me, blood was noticeably leaking from his forehead. "Damn you, kid! You ruined my club. I hope you die a slow and painful death you blond son of a bitch!" He snarled at me.

"Your club looked as bad before this, we just gave it a little decoration." I retorted dryly as he was getting shoved into the back of the car before the door slammed in front of him. It felt so cathartic putting that place down. Seriously screw that club. We've done a huge favor for the city putting it out of the map.

Another officer approached the detective, carrying what seems to be one of the drugs the Triads were hiding wrapped in packaging. "Sir, we have confirmation that the Triads were indeed trafficking drugs narcotics in their club. Mostly obscura and frenzon **[1]** " he reported before presenting one of them.

"Obsucra? I thought the kingdoms would make sure the production of those things would be impossible, and just where the hell did they get the frenzon from?" Detective Huntley rubbed his chin. "This is more serious than I thought."

"Not only that, sir, but we also found this letter hidden along with the stash." The officer handed the piece of paper to Detective Huntley. His calm expression was almost broken upon reading it.

"What does it say?" Neptune asked before the detective turned the piece of paper and showed it to us.

Although it was short, the cursive handwriting on the letter took me an additional amount of time to read in order for me to understand what it was trying to convey, and that's not even mentioning the cryptic nature of the message.

 _'Here's your next supply as provided. Our furry friends need some motivators and some cold professionals could use some relaxation._

 _You know what to do from here on out. I don't care how you handle this. Just get the job done and be discreet. If you get caught, you're on your own._

 _Remember, we're paying you good money so you could put your wretched club back to its former glory. If you do a good enough job, and we might even provide you an even better one._

 _Vale is going to have one hell of a time._

 _-Miss F.'_

There was a mark of red lipstick next to the name of the sender, making it crystal clear that the writer of this message was a woman apart it's rather elegant handwriting. The implications that the letter revealed that someone has been sending the Triads drugs and have only been using them as seemingly expendable pawns was enough to raise some concerns. It appears that this case was still far from solved, much to my dismay.

"Looks like this is not over yet. The Triads got their stock by an unknown supplier," Detective Huntley said.

"What do they mean by this?" Ren asked, "The message appears to be cryptic, the first paragraph in particular,"

"We'll find out soon enough. For now, we're going to have to dismiss you after you're all debriefed. You have obviously done more than enough." Detective Huntley said, putting the note on his coat's pocket. "Once again, good job. It may not be the ideal solution as it was possible to avoid a bloodbath but what's done is done. The Silverlock Street Triads will no longer be a problem from now on."

"You're welcome, sir. If you still need some help with a case, you can always count on us!" Neptune said proudly.

" _Fuck the police, I hate 'em."_ A rap song suddenly played out of nowhere. " _Shit, I'm gonna skate 'em."_ **[2]**

Everyone was wondering where that song was coming from before tracing it near Neptune who looked frozen while it plays. "Oh, my bad."

 _"Gotta fucking have sex with their wives after I've given them knives."_ The ringtone continued to play until Neptune pressed the 'Accept Call' button.

"Hello," Neptune greeted the caller. "Oh, Scarlet. Don't worry we're done with our mission. We just need to go to the precinct to get debriefed and we'll be heading home," He told his teammate on the scroll, pausing afterward for a brief moment before it was his turn to talk again. "It's fine. See you."

"Interesting choice of ringtone, Mr. Vasilias," Detective Huntley remarked.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice song," Neptune said sheepishly before chuckling.

"Stay here. I'm going to take a look at the mess you caused. I'll return shortly and then I'll take you to the precinct," He said before walking away from us and went inside the club.

"That was so fucking fun," Rouge said as suddenly put her arms on Rose's shoulders and mine. "We showed 'em that crime doesn't pay, didn't we?"

That's not exactly true. Just ask any politician. Many of them were able to reach retirement and get away with all their corruption.

"I hope you don't forget that lesson yourself," Rose said as she looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Rouge giggled before turning back to me. "By the way, can you now tell me where you hid the scrapbook?"

"Still haven't found it? I'm such doing a great job," I sassed.

"You can't hide it forever, you twerp. I'd turn the house upside-down if I had to."

"I like to see you try. I was planning on living alone anyway. Good luck with Dad's wrath."

"It would be all worth it."

Rose put on a smile and giggled. "I just remembered how we miss you, Jaune."

"Yeah. Me too," I said to them. Bantering with my sisters again after months after in Beacon made me feel nostalgic, as well as a little homesick, but I was nonetheless satisfied with having them here with me.

We finally left Silverlock Street after the detective came back took me and the boys for a ride on his car to the precinct without any further incident. Rose followed us with her bike along with Rouge. We were still a little tired from the party we just crashed so we took our time to unwind on the way there.

Looking back from all of this, this was evidently the stupidest idea I ever thought of that somehow worked so far. Fortunately, I don't think the Triads would bother me after this. They pretty much got the message. My only problem was the supplier the triads were working with. Hopefully, they would take the hint and realize that I'm not worth it. I already crippled two organizations because they tried to kill me and I'm not looking forward to doing it again. They should know that I wouldn't a bother unless I'm forced to.

 **=o=**

1\. _A term for a psychological control drug manufactured by an unknown Vacuan tribe that puts the user in a fanatical mental state. They were once treated as combat drugs by several militaries before becoming prohibited in all four kingdoms by the United Councils Committee. Like obscura, it hasn't stopped certain cults from possessing it and making them a part of their dogma._

2\. _T_ _he song was 'Fuck Tha Police' by the late infamous rapper, Yung Dab (real name: Maximilian Thoroughbred) featuring Alabaster Slim of the now-defunct Cop Killa Records._

* * *

We spent half an hour of having our ears listen to the police chief while yelling at us in a volume where soundwaves reaching above the precinct's roof (not that it made any difference to Rouge) over the stunt we pulled—and then praising us for our efforts, noting that the success in apprehending Triad operations made it worth it. The lack of civilian casualties and property damages outside the club helped. Besides, they plan to demolish the place after their done investigating it anyway. Looks like Vale's underground is going to need to find another seizure-inducing dance club now that the Crimson Panda will be no more.

They dismissed us after Sun and Neptune turned in their badge and received their payment. Ren, my sisters and I also received compensation for our assistance, which was nice even if it was only a third worth of the two's rewards, it was Sun and Neptune's mission after all. Besides, I already got enough by looting the place anyway.

They also told us if we're looking for work, we can always volunteer to assist the police. Yeah, they're going have to wait for a while for that one. I'll still keep it in mind since I would rather stay close with the local police once I become a Huntsman.

They let us off pretty easy for all the trouble we caused, I know. Am I complaining? Of course not. Getting rid of us was the most sensible option and it might as well count as a reward for helping reduce the crime rates and we didn't need another week of community service to pay the debt of the damages while the tourney was still ongoing.

After leaving the police station, Rose and Rouge bid us farewell at the Bullhead station. stating that we'll still see each other tomorrow as they would watch me during the doubles rounds along with the intermission with Noir and Blanche. The only thing I'm praying for is that Rouge and Nora (and by extension, Yang) don't spend too much time with each other when they meet. Beacon is not going to last a week with them hanging out.

Before they left, Rouge approached me for something. "Hey, twerp. Here's a little gift from your big sister," she said as she handed me a vial of ice dust. "You could use some of this. It's not much, but it can save your life."

"A vial of ice dust?" I wondered. I wasn't expecting much, especially from her, but I can't just decline it because I'm getting free stuff from my sister. I could use some dust for a rainy day anyway. "Uh, sure, thanks."

"No problem. If you liked it, you can buy more of it at your local dust shop. It costs like thirty lien or something." She nodded before heading to sit on the back of Rose's motorcycle. "See you later, alligator!"

The two drove away, leaving a trail of smoke coming from the bike's engine. We took a cab on the Bullhead stations that would take us back to the academy.

When we arrived back to Beacon around eight in the evening. It was fairly early so the campus was still crowded but there were only a handful of people on the Bullhead's docking station nonetheless. There was still an hour left before the campus' fairground closes but after a long day, all we could think about was grabbing a bite and rest. Maybe even practice for a bit while there's still time and energy for us to spare.

"I'm going to head straight back to the dorms. The girls should be preparing dinner by now. I'll meet you there." Ren told me. I nodded before he proceeded to the dorms.

Sun and Neptune also had something to say before they departed. "Hey, Jaune. We can't thank you enough back there. I know we owe you a lot but this is the only way we can repay you for now." Sun said as he gives me what appears to be a limited-edition calendar for the current year which was also a Mistrali exclusive. A rather trivial gift for all the trouble I went for them but I didn't really expect anything more. "You might like it a little too much." He winked, much to my confusion.

"There's more where that came from," Neptune added. "Thanks again. We couldn't have done it without you and your hot sisters."

He just had to say that, didn't he? "Don't mention it. I'm always here if you need me" Now I'm just encouraging him. I'm tempted to slap myself for that.

"Anyhow, we'll be off. See ya' tomorrow," Sun said. The two then went straight to the exchange student's dorm building.

I opened the calendar to see what was in it aside from the obvious. In hindsight, it was a good idea to check it out once I was alone because it turned out that it was a premium bikini calendar with pictures of girls from Mistral. Not only that, but one of them was also Pyrrha, posing on a beach wearing a red swimsuit with a smile on her face. My nose almost bled upon realization. I guess that her contract with the family-friendly Pumpkin Pete didn't stop her from going into risqué photoshoots for her older fans to enjoy. I'm going to keep this hidden. I wouldn't want my friends to get the wrong idea when they see this. I gotta thank those two sometime; to their credit, they actually have a good taste in calendars.

I proceeded to make my way through the campus. It didn't take long for me to find Weiss sitting on a bench, contemplating at her scroll. Judging by the expression she bore, she appeared to be conflicted with something.

I decided to approach her to see how she was doing. "Hey there, Ice Queen." Not particularly an ideal way to call her when trying to stay at good terms but she didn't look like she was offended, a bit of a far cry from what I've known of her over these months. Did cake and tea really mellow her out?

"Oh," she put down her scroll as she looked at me. "Is there something you need?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I just wanted to see if you're alright. You look down there for a second."

"I'm fine. Thank you," she said with a smile that was too warm to be worn as someone as infamously cold as her even if she did become a lot more warmer recently. "How was your day?"

"I just met my sisters, helped Sun and Neptune serve the community and had a party at a club. It was nice," I answered, without going through much of the details. A lot just happened and I wasn't in a mood in explaining everything to her when all I wanted was to settle down.

"Okay…" she said with a hint of skepticism but she thankfully didn't provide any further inquiries concerning it. "So care to talk for a minute?"

I wasn't in a hurry so I saw no reason not to. "Yeah, sure."

"Alright then. Let's take this somewhere else. Follow me."

She took me to the gardens. The gardens looked no less beautiful at night. Though it was dark, the lampposts illuminated, providing light to the garden while it was under the dark blue night sky. In the middle of the garden, stood a pavilion. We seated at one of the tables inside it. The pavilion was open to the air with a fountain placed at the center. There was no one else in the gardens save for the two of us, giving the place a peaceful ambience. I remember this place since we had cake and tea together, it's been only a week since then.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I said.

"Alright. Please answer this honestly," she began before asking, "How would you describe me?"

Even though it was an easy question, it still took me a few seconds to think before answering. Would have been easier if I were to be frank, but I had to tone it down a little to maintain the amicable atmosphere. "Smart. Pretty. Elegant." I began, with her being pleased so far. "Kind of a snob." Her smile inverted after hearing that part. "But a nice enough friend once you get to know her." And with that statement, she felt a little more satisfied.

I continued, "She's the heiress of one of the biggest companies in the world, who also makes a good Huntress. And from what I've seen, a great teammate as well despite her attitude at times. Why did you ask?"

She sighed, glancing at her side before returning to my gaze as she responded to my question. "I just wanted to check what's going on between us. We didn't exactly have the best first impressions, have we?"

My thoughts went back to our first day in this academy, recalling the time when she basically yelled at me for being too cozy with Pyrrha while not knowing who she was. Not to mention, my attempt at saving her life back when she was falling during the initiation the following day. I feel my arms hurt just by thinking of that. "Yeah, you don't have to remind me."

"I know I wasn't the nicest person then. I was cruel, arrogant and I was just so full of myself. I wanted to apologize for that. To you; to Ruby; to Blake; and to everyone else I looked down on," she said woefully, staring down at the table below her. "You know, I came to Beacon because I had a legacy of honor to uphold, just like you, but that's not the whole story."

She met my eyes once again. "Ever since my grandfather passed away, the SDC was on the verge of declining. My father was able to save the company after taking over as CEO and as the head of the clan. But it costed the good name of our family through his questionable practices; he bought others down just so he could get to the top. And because of him, my family and the company were no longer held in high regard."

She looked at me regrettably and I could only stare back at her with genuine pity. "When I look at families such as yours, I feel envious of how they are so respected. I knew I had to do something. I didn't want my family to go down in history as villains. I wanted to restore their honor and show the world that the Schnees are so much better than how most of the world sees us. I thought that maybe as a Huntress, I could actually help people and bring back the once-esteemed image of my last name." She then took a deep breath before finishing. "So I'm sorry again for the way I acted before, it certainly didn't help my image nor my family's."

I gave her a reassuring smile. Sure, she still has that haughty attitude that would have her infamous ice-themed nicknames be stuck with her for a while, but she didn't feel like the same conceited shrew I had the misfortune of meeting in the first day and she genuinely has become more affable over these months. If she keeps this, up she'll actually be able to succeed in her pursuit of wiping the stain off her family's name. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. You've come so far, Weiss," I told her. "I'm sure you'll be able to get your family's honor back. I believe in you."

Her expression brightened. "Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate your support and understanding. I'm glad to know that I am truly bettering myself."

"Speaking of your family, how's your sister been doing?" I asked.

"She just left. It turns out, she was only here to watch over some assets being transported to Vale. Aside from that, we conversed about our family and state of the company. I also had some lessons learned from her."

I raised a brow in interest. "What kind of lessons?"

"Something about my semblance. I don't want to talk about it yet. I hope you can respect that." She answered, leaving me in the dark with whatever that for now.

"Okay then. Whatever makes you comfortable," I uttered before moving on to another inquiry. "So, about you and Neptune…"

"He told you, didn't he?" She presumed, sounding more inquisitive than surprised. I admit that really wasn't a good question to ask after declaring my consideration for her comfort.

"Well, I asked him about it so it wasn't his fault," I told her.

She let out a brief sigh before she answered my question. "Yes. We did break up. At least he was honest about what he felt. I just wished he told me sooner."

"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm. Sure he can be unbearable at times, but at the end of the day, he's just a screw-up like the rest of us,"

"Figured as much. Maybe I acted a little too harsh on him. I'm just glad we got our closure. We were better off in a platonic relationship anyway," she stated after a deep breath. "Anyway, you seem to be following your family's legacy better than I do. I'm just curious about how are you able to do it."

Here come these types of questions; I was worried when she would start asking for them. Luckily, I had some half-truths prepared just in case. "I really don't know, but I can tell you that it's not as easy as it looks. Trying to save a family's legacy is one thing but trying to be worthy of something as great as my ancestors is a hard act to follow. I'd have the Gods to thank that I'm doing well so far," I answered without making a technical lie so far.

"I see," she said before bringing up another question, and it was something I did not anticipate. "Now answer me this; do you really see yourself as a hero? Or are you doing this because it is your obligation as a member of your family?"

That question shocked me. The way she suddenly brought it up made my heart race as I tried to uphold my composure while hastily finding an answer, which proven to be difficult to an extent when under pressure. I thought of what would the public's perception of myself would answer. And let's just say I tried. "W-well… A lot of people like to see me that way, and that's fine. But I just like to see myself as some guy doing my best to become a Huntsman, like doing what our duty tells us what to do while also doing the right thing. It's why people see us as heroes."

She nodded, but even then, she remained skeptical, shown by her sharp, narrowed eyes despite doing my very best to make claim as convincing as I could, "Alright, not bad. But something doesn't add up. I know that there's something you're not telling me. Come on now, Jaune. I already told you why I'm here, so please be honest with me."

Her suspicions made my internal panicking even worse and I didn't know what else to do aside from continuing in acting innocently stupid. Maybe I shouldn't have approached her when I saw her alone at a bench. "W-what are you talking about? How am I not being honest?"

My attempt was done in vain as she managed to see through it. "Jaune, I can tell that you're playing dumb. You can't trick me like that anymore," she said. "I already know how you actually act like when you're being yourself; you don't need to play that lovable idiot routine. It's not like you have anything to hide now. Do you?"

Her words felt like she hammered the last nail in the coffin. There was no point in playing charades with her anymore. If you have been reading my memoirs for a while now, then chances are, you already know that amiable persona was just a front to maintain a good relationship with my schoolmates but I was becoming more comfortable with their company that I couldn't tell if I'm still lying when I give them a friendly face anymore. She already knew that I wasn't exactly the wide-eyed goody-two-shoes everybody knew and loved. On the bright side, she's still unaware of the fact that I was too self-absorbed to do anything sincerely heroic and most of time, I've only done them to escape something.

The best way to get out of this was to keep giving her half-truths while being more convincing. I didn't necessarily have to tell her my more surreptitious secrets to be satisfied. "It's just that—I'm actually kind of scared."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to be a hero," I explained. Emphasis on 'wanted', by the way. "I'm trying my best to be one so I could be like my ancestors before me. When people think of heroes. They think of someone humble and brave. And I have been trying to enforce that image ever since then because I might not live up to my family's name."

"But why?" she asked, looking convinced so far. Good, I thought. Keep this up, and I'll be able to sway her away from this topic. She already knows too much.

"It's because either you fulfill your legacy or you're nothing but a disappointment, and I was afraid that I might not live up to it. So I'm trying to live the image of an ideal hero as possible, and I started by acting as idealistic as I could," I told her. "I guess you could say I'm trying too hard then."

"In other words, you're just a screw-up like the rest of us," she remarked, echoing my words about a minute ago.

"Pretty much. I just hope you understand," I said. It was one the least of my problems, so it wasn't a big deal but thank goodness it's no longer a problem. For a second there, I thought she might able to find out my actual motivations. If there was anyone who might start unwanted rumors, it was her. **[1]**

"Look, Jaune, whatever your motivation is, you have done a lot to earn everyone's respect here. I'm sure your family would be proud of you," she said. "I wish my father would say the same for me."

Except I didn't earn anything. Everyone just foolishly heralded me because they thought I was being heroic, not knowing what my ulterior motives were. In any case, I wish her the best with her family. Being spoiled by doting parents myself, I can't imagine being raised by a self-centered ingrate. "I hope you get what you deserve, Weiss. You've done a lot since I first met you."

"I appreciate that," She went back at smiling at me. "Just remember that sooner or later, you have to show everyone who you are. You can't hide it forever. But you're not a bad person, Jaune; you don't have to act all that idealistic because you're already as good as you truly are, so why even hide it? They'll understand."

You don't know half of it, I mumbled. I'll just stick with my plan into letting them adjust to my more sardonic nature. That way, they wouldn't be surprised to learn of my cynicism despite my idealized image and I don't have to expose myself as a cowardly, selfish fraud.

"Is there still something bothering you?" She queried.

She was still noticing my apprehensions, and I knew I had to act quick. I looked back up and met her gaze again. "Oh sorry. You know how it is. Sharing one of your secrets to someone and all that."

"I see," she remarked. Well, that's a relief. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It's just that you didn't have the most consistent personality as far as I could tell. It felt like I met a different person when you dropped the lovable idiot act."

Yeah, I was worried that someone would notice. "I was only in a bad mood then," I argued.

"You sounded pretty normal," she pointed out. "Don't worry, I'm going to keep this conversation between us. I trust that you'll do the same for me?"

"Hey, you're respecting my secrets; I'd have to be very despicable not to do the same," I grinned.

"Good to hear." She said before pushing her chair back and standing up. "I think this is enough. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and hearing me out. It was nice."

"You're welcome, Weiss. If you need something to talk to about, just let me know," I said, standing up from my seat as well.

We walked out of the pavilion and was about to go our separate paths before called me again. "Oh and Jaune." I turned back to hear what she has to say, "Best of luck for tomorrow,"

"You too," I said as I gave her a smile.

She smiled back at me before turning back and going to her own path. I was happy that I'm able to have a friendly conversation with Weiss again. It shows how far we went since our initial meeting.

But I couldn't help but feel reprehensible for not being completely transparent with her. She opened up to me on a personal level and I repaid her by continuing to exploit her limited awareness of the truth about me, just so I could guarantee the safety of my own well-being. That's not something a good friend would do, would they? Maybe we shouldn't have been friends to begin with; that way, I wouldn't have to lie to her like that after she gave me her trust. This is why I didn't want to get too close to the people I call my 'friends', but sometimes I have no other options but do what I had to do, for the sake of myself, my family and everyone I have deceived.

I shook my own head and went back on concentrating on returning to the dorms while saving my worries for the match on the following day. Whatever I just did cannot be undone for now, no matter how wrong it was.

As I arrived at my dorm, Ren was already fast asleep on his bed. I promptly took my dinner before taking a shower and then going to bed. I'm either going to sleep immediately because I was very tired and a lot happened today or I'm going to end up thinking about the events that unfolded until they eventually leave me alone and let drift into slumber. Regardless, I was going to bed as earlier than usual, even if I wouldn't be able to sleep after lying in bed for a few hours, I'm not letting my insomnia ruin my performance for tomorrow. So even if I sleep in and wake up late, I'll still have some time before the second round starts. It's a win-win, if you ask me.

 **=o=**

1\. _Just another example of Jaune's usual paranoia. He underestimated my ability to keep secrets especially for those who deserved to have their secrets respected._

* * *

I was right, I did manage to get enough sleep. I usually end up oversleeping or undersleeping, but last morning I felt like I woke up just right without my alarm clock having to wake me, which is a rarity.

It was the day for the doubles round. According to the tournament bracket, Pyrrha and I would be facing Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from an Atlesian team called Team FNKI (Funky) Not exactly a team name you'd expect from Atlas Academy but weird names are inevitably common if you have a tradition includes naming important things after colors or anything related to it, making some unfortunate ones getting stuck with a joke of a name as if they did something to piss off the system and ended up getting humiliated as a result.

My team and I were walking through the concourse of the coliseum. Nora dressed like our number one fan, ignoring the fact that she does act like it while being officially our teammate. She was wearing a guzzler that has the letters 'JNPR' written on it while carrying two cans of diet soda as she wore a large foam finger. She was also wearing a navy-blue T-shirt that has a print of a picture of me and Pyrrha between a pink heart with a text that says 'Arkos' written below it and I'm just going to leave it at that. I think it was one of the clothes that Nora herself commissioned from someone. Ren was also wearing the shirt but it doesn't take a genius to sense that Nora forced him to wear it.

Those shirts kinda made me less worried about my upcoming match with Pyrrha and more concerned with whatever Nora is planning to do with the two of us. The only reason why I even tolerated this nonsense is that it hasn't hurt anyone yet.

On our way, I got a text from Blanche. The message contained nothing but a single smiley face and it was enough to tell me that they were ready to perform their songs and that I should brace myself when it starts to play.

A certain redhead who has the same hair color as Nora approached us cheerfully. She was also being followed by a dark-skinned Atlesian girl wearing a blue beret with a gold marking on her forehead.

"Salutations!" Penny greeted, still speaking with typical Atlesian formalities along with her contagious enthusiasm. "It's so good to see you again, Jaune Arc!"

"Oh hey, there Penny. Ready for the next match, I presume?" I responded.

"I sure am!" she bounced before turning to my partner. "And I am so pleased to have your acquaintance, Pyrrha Nikos, the four-time consecutive winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament!"

Pyrrha gave her a humble smile. "And to you as well. I've heard nothing but good things about you, Penny."

"Oh, and I would like you to meet my teammate," Penny said, gesturing to her companion.

"Ciel Soliel. It's a pleasure to meet you both," she greeted. "May you fight well for your match. Team FNKI is one of our finer, if aberrant teams, so I look forward to seeing how you perform against one another."

"Thanks. I hope you do great too," I replied. "By the way, who are you facing against again?" I only reviewed the upcoming matches that only concerned me and my friends at the bracket and I did not bother checking for the rest.

"Penny and I are matched against Russel Thrush and Sky Lark of Team CRDL," Ciel answered. "Since they're also from Beacon, I assume you're in the same class?"

Oh yeah, those guys. "Yep. In fact, you can say I'm a little too familiar with them," I stated. It'll probably be fun to watch. The best thing I could say about Team CRDL as a team is that they're passable, and seeing that I once saw Penny defeating a whole group of White Fang soldiers and pull a Bullhead down all by herself with my very own blue eyes, it's quite clear to see who the odds were favoring.

"Speaking of which, their team leader is right behind you!" Penny said, making all of us turn around and see Cardin walking toward us.

"Hey there, twerps." Cardin greeted with a grin. Knowing what Cardin is now, he was likely saying that in a playful manner, otherwise, he would have given us a far more punchable face.

"Cardin!" Nora alarmingly yelled as she darted in front of him and began to point her foam finger at his face. "I have a foam finger and I'm not afraid to smack it on your head!"

Cardin backed away slightly. "Now, now. We're cool." His gaze turned to mine. "Isn't that right, Jaune?"

I nodded. "He's not lying, Nora. Cardin's fine now. He's hardly the same guy that tried to bully me anymore." I told her.

And just like that, she down her foam finger and stepped back. She harrumphed and still kept a distrusting look at him, however. But I got her under control and that's what mattered, something I should actually commend myself for considering this was Nora we were talking about. Ren wished he could control Nora the same way I do.

"Nice to see you doing well, Arc," Cardin said to me amicably. "If you weren't so much of a cool guy, I'd would have been so disappointed that I'd go back to kicking your ass."

I was still not used to seeing him act like this but it was a welcome change in tone. First an egocentric snow princess and now one of my former arch-nemesis (or the closest thing I had then) is also being chummy with me. I can almost forgive him for causing to accidentally have my first encounter with the White Fang.

"You're not doing bad yourself either, Winchester," I responded, smiling at him. "You've come a long way since then, but two of your friends still have a lot to learn."

"Yeah, sorry about them. But trust me, they'll get better. Just give those morons a chance." He said. That's going to take a while, it took a match and several detentions to get Cardin to reform and two of his teammates still have a grudge against me. In Russel's case, I'm pretty certain that the only way to get him to humble is if someone shaves his dumb mohawk if you can even call it that.

Cardin turned to Penny. "And so, you're that Penny girl I've been hearing about. You're a lot more… cuter than I pictured but whatever."

"It's good to meet you too. I hope there would be no hard feelings when we defeat your team," Penny said.

"It'll be fine. Never really cared much about for a trophy. It's just a stupid decoration to me. So long as I can keep clobbering Grimm, I don't care. Anyway, I can't wait to see your match against my teammates," Cardin said. "Go easy on Sky though, he's a good chump. But do whatever you want to Russel, just please don't tell him I told you that."

"Acknowledged!" Penny chirped. "And may the best competitor win!"

"Penny, we have to go now. The second round is about to begin," Ciel told her after checking her watch.

Penny nodded before turning back to us, "I wish everybody good luck!" Penny cheerfully said before departing away from us with her teammate.

Cardin shifted toward me and Pyrrha once again. "Good luck, you two. I'll be cheering for you. Make Beacon proud."

"Thanks, Cardin. That means a lot coming from you," I remarked.

"Don't get too carried away with it, Jauney-boy. You're still a chump but at least you've proven yourself to be a cool chump." He said, bringing back the familiarity of the classic Losechester that infuriated me, but in a friendly and playful manner. "Anyway, your welcome. I hope I can make it up to you."

"I'd say you're doing great, Winchester," I replied smugly. "Keep it up."

"I will." He nodded. "See ya later, you blond doofus!" He said as he walked away from us.

"Would you look at that," Ren remarked. "It seems Cardin did really learn humility."

"I'm just glad he's no longer looking down on others. It shows that even people like him have hope." Pyrrha said. I don't know if it's my growing reputation or if he learned his lesson after multiple detentions, but I'm glad Cardin managed to better himself and be friendly in his own way, even if I can't say the same for teammates not named Sky yet.

We proceeded to the arena. The seats were already filled with spectators eager to see some 2v2. Like yesterday we sat near the front, besides Team RWBY.

Dr. Oobleck began his announcement in his usual rapid pace of speech. "Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen to the 40th Biennial Vytal Tournament. Now it is now the time for the doubles round. Two competitors of each team will be facing one against another! Contesting on who will reign supreme and proceed to the singles round where they would eventually become champion!"

"Now we know you are all eager to find out, which is why we will now begin immediately!" Professor Port followed as the matches began afterward.

One of the first matches on the round was Mercury and Emerald vs. Coco and Yatsuhashi. A battle between coffee and cinnamon. You can tell that it was going to be a sweet fight.

Being one of the most popular and toughest students in Beacon even in their second year, everyone expected Coco and Yatsu to win while the other team was almost unheard of until their performance yesterday that some described as 'brutally entertaining', whatever that means. Hell, I probably wouldn't even be that much familiar with Team CMEN had I not bumped with them the other day and have Mercury pick me for a match that only got himself forfeited because I was 'too good.'

"In this corner, stands a combination of strength, deadliness, and style! You already know who I am talking about. Ladies and gentlemen. From Beacon Academy, Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi of Team CFVY!" Professor Port proudly presented. The crowd cheered. Some of her fans even mimicking her sunglasses-beret combo.

"And from Haven Academy; representing one of last round's unexpected underdog of a team that shows a surprising amount of cunning. Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai of Team CMEN!" Professor Oobleck announced, his rapid speaking made his pronunciation of their team name sound like what its spelling is suggesting. Speaking of the team name, it was displayed in a large text on every scoreboard in the arena, much to the team's embarrassment.

The team's name and especially its spelling provoked laughter around the arena while being passed off as an applause, which was quite generous for a fairly obscure team like theirs against one of the most popular teams in Beacon.

"I love you too, Amity!" Mercury shouted as he waved at the crowd. I can notice Emerald rolling her red eyes away from him.

To put it nice and simple, Mercury and Emerald were surprisingly able to have Coco's and Yatsuhashi's asses handed to them in the end despite all odds being against while being accompanied by an embarrassing team name, much to the upset of Team CFVY's fans with some of them even booing. The livestream viewers were also spamming 'RIGGED' on the chat accompanied by some angry emotes.

You gotta give them some credit. Coco and Yatsu were one of the toughest students in the academy that even got Pyrrha's respect for their prowess. These two being able to beat them was an achievement that I thought was unattainable. They even broke Coco's sunglasses and managed to get away with it, and keep in mind that Coco is known for taking her clothes so seriously. Not bad for a team named after cinnamon.

The following matches, in summary, involved Weiss and Yang putting two Haven guys in ice cubes before getting knocked out by a flaming fist, proving that these work well together despite their contrasts. I still feel bad for Weiss getting knocked out again though. **[1]**

Meanwhile, Sun and Sage put some of my classmates in a beatdown and winning. The funny thing about this one is that Sage ended up being the last man standing for this match.

Penny and Ciel made Russel and Sky cowering into submission as expected. That match ended with those two getting crushed by rocks, with Penny awing the audience with fighting prowess that only a few can match. She'd even steal the spotlight away from me and my undeserved reputation, which I would actually grateful for. My modest image would also help should that be the case. Hopefully, Cardin would be able to put his team in their place this time.

After a few more matches, ours were next. I took a deep breath, reassuring myself that I won't have much anything major to be concerned about once after this is done and that Pyrrha would make sure there won't be a problem. We were sent to the lockers at the backstage to prepare ourselves for the next fight.

We looked at one of the screens where it shifted to the announcer's booth with Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck. "Before we start this next match. We would like to give you a special presentation featuring none other than the idols Blanche and Noire Arc themselves!" Professor Port announced, followed by cheers from the audience.

"Which is appropriate considering how their brother going to be involved in the next match," the doctor added.

Yeah, and I pretty much have them to blame for that. I hope all the money they paid for this was worth it because I will also be paying with my own sweat. It's a good thing I was at the backstage when all of this occurred. No one but Pyrrha was able to see my face during their show, and even then I was composed enough not to show much emotion while looking visibly impressed enough at the performance my sisters did because of me.

About half a minute before their act started, Blanche sent me a message saying 'This is for you, little brother.' I put on a smile as I put down my scroll. When the two appeared on the stage of the arena, they were greeted with applause from the audience around the arena before singing.

The lyrics were thankfully more subtle than I feared, to the point that you won't recognize that the song is actually about me even if you pay attention to it. I doubt that most people if anyone at all noticed the meaning of those lyrics as it'll probably be interpreted as another endearing pop song about someone. Even I had to wonder if the song was really a tribute to me that I wouldn't have found out if it weren't for a few clues.

Ramblings aside, it was still a song from my favorite twins so it was nice to listen to. I can feel the lyrics and the melody lift up my spirits. Then again, it's probably the effects of their semblance acting out. Regardless, I appreciate them doing this for me. I feel uplifted listening to the song and it was enough to clear my mind of insecurities that it helped me focus on my following match.

And there's also something funny about having your twin sisters sing about you the day after fighting another pair of twins that also tried flirting with you.

The song ended with roaring applause as Blanche and Noir bowed to the audience before disappearing into a cloud of artificial smoke.

"That was beautiful." The screens showed Professor Port wiping a tear from his with a napkin. He cleared his throat, "And on with the show!"

"It's time," Pyrrha said, her emerald eyes locked into mine. "You ready?"

"Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can't do," I said cheekily.

Pyrrha giggled at my remark, "Well, let's get going then."

We went passed the tunnel and stepped on the platform that would take us to the arena. Our opponents were already there. They were… not what I was expecting, not as Atlas Academy students.

Penny's partner was right when she described the team we were facing as aberrant by Atlesian standards. When you picture a student from Atlas, you think of someone akin to a stoic, professionals and disciplined soldier. Well, these two don't fit that description. For starters, one of them was in a semi-formal attire; wearing an untucked white dress shirt beneath a dark-gray vest, along with a fedora and sunglasses with his cyan necktie wrapped around his collar. He was almost similar to that of a typical Triad Goon I faced yesterday. Now that wouldn't be bad enough as Atlesians are known to flex around with sophisticated appearances if it weren't for the fact that this guy uses a freaking trumpet with some dust vials built into it as his weapon of choice. What's next? An archer who uses a violin as a bow? You know what, I wouldn't be surprised because someone must have already thought of that idea.

His partner is about as un-Atlesian as she gets. First off, she's a faunus. Okay, that itself isn't exactly strange despite Atlas being rather infamous for being the least-faunus friendly kingdom on the planet. Believe it or not, it is still possible to have a decent life there as one, provided you're not working or living under a bigoted asshole. The increasing acceptance toward them over the years certainly helped, even though it was often done for blatant tokenism. Being familiar with Atlesian nationalism myself, they still see their faunus to be better than most other faunus in the world even if they are treated as second-class citizens at best.

What caught my eye about her is that she looked like a retro pop star who got lost and somehow ended up on the highly-militaristic Atlas Academy. Her bright outfit, being a cyan cropped tank top and a pink mini-skirt **[2]** with her tail exposed is far from the combat fatigues Atlesian soldiers usually wear. She wore roller-blades and uses _nunchucku-glowsticks_ (or whatever you call that) as her weapons for crying out loud.

I almost thought that we walked into a music video shoot, albeit empty.

"Why, hello there!" Neon, the colorful cat faunus greeted. I was still trying to process the oddities of my opponent to make a response.

"Hi," Pyrrha waved.

"You look so much prettier outside the cereal box!" Neon remarked. "Can you sign mine after this match?"

"That's… fine by me. And thank you for the compliment."

"No problem! But don't forget that I am not losing to you!" she grinned as she swung her nunchaku.

"That, I can't promise," Pyrrha replied as she went to her fighting stance.

"Yo, so you really are Caiaphas Arc Junior, aren't you?" Flynt the trumpet guy asked me.

Oh, I dunno, he sure has plenty of daughters but I heard he also had this kid called 'John' or something; not that I'm familiar with him at all. "More or less," I answered after I stopped spacing out.

"You're kind of cool from what I heard from. My dad used to tell me stories about your father; maybe one day, I'd be telling stories of you to my kids if I ever get one."

I wouldn't count on it if I were you, and by the way, you heard wrong. "Well, I hope you don't mind telling your kids that I beat you in a tournament at one point," I quipped with a cocky smile. Not really something you'd hear from a modest hero but let me have my fun. I am trying to give my public persona a little bit of my actual personality after all.

He chuckled. "Maybe. Either way, I'm going to have a great story to tell. Hell, I'd probably write a song about it."

"Can't wait to listen to it," I said as I assumed my fighting stance as well.

"By the way, Jaune Arc. Were those twins really your sisters? Their song was soooo beautiful," Neon said to me.

"Thank you, and because of that I'm in a good mood for some winning," I said.

"Is that so? How cute. Sorry that we have to get in your way," Neon said as the elevator began to ascend toward the stage.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Allow us to do that for you," I stated.

"Oh, it's on!" Flynt said as he readied his trumpet.

Neon giggled, "I like you! Maybe we should hang out sometime. You wouldn't mind that, would you, Pyrrha Nikos?"

Great, here comes another member to my fan club.

"Oh, uh…" Pyrrha muttered as the platform finally arrived at the stage with all of us being welcomed by the sound of a cheering crowd. "Oh look, the match is about to begin!"

We faced against our opponents, ready to engage once the cue has been given. But I can't help but be distracted looking at Nora at seats ordering five people wearing individual letters on their T-shirts that all spell 'ARKOS' to stand up for us to see. I gave a questioning look to Pyrrha who gave me a look that was no different from mine. I knew Nora was up to something.

Four holograms depicting a banner for the stage's environments shuffled. The biomes that were chosen were a desert, what appeared to be a geyser, an urban area in ruins, and that gods-forsaken volcanic biome from last round, but aside from that, it wasn't too bad. It was manageable enough for me.

"Three. Two. One. Begin!"

The match started with Flynt blowing his trumpet, unleashing a powerful soundwave as it pushes both of us back, with its sound being so loud that it was irritating enough to keep us from thinking clearly. Blocking it with my shield didn't do any good to it. I could use some of Rouge's semblance by then. I take back everything bad I said about her immunity to loud noises since I thought it was comical compared to most other semblances. This was when I started to see why that semblance wasn't entirely useless after all.

Pyrrha was able to hold her ground while I was struggling to stay still. Neon used the soundwaves to push herself toward me, effectively knocking me back after she kicked my shield. My back fell at the ruin's ground. After a quick glimpse, I saw that Neon was skating toward me with a trail of rainbows behind her, so I quickly drew my pistol and fired at her. The straight laser blast the pistol unleashed proved to be swift even to the likes of her. She was lucky enough to have managed to deflect it by spinning her weapon. Knowing that the lasers were fast enough to get past her weapon eventually, she decided to engage with me on melee.

She sprung toward me, attempting to swing her nunchaku toward me. I rolled to my right before I thrust myself toward her, swinging my sword. She was nimble enough to avoid every single one of them, leaning and stepping away from the steel of my weapon. Her rollerblades made her even a harder target. I aimed and fire at her as she began to duck away from the lasers as she began twirling her weapon again.

I altered between swinging my sword and firing at her while our melee weapons occasionally meet. She then stepped back and cracked the glowsticks on her weapon. Her weapon began glowing light blue as she went back at flailing it at me. I darted back, avoiding her attacks. My instincts instructed me to throw a pebble from the ground and see what would happen if it made contact with her glowsticks while they were activated. When I did so, the pebble was frozen as it rebounded from the nunchaku, thus confirming my assumption that ice dust was active on her weapon. I kept her dodging her swings, making sure not to parry my sword as it will only become frozen if it touches her glowsticks. I attempted to aim my weapon at her, but unfortunately, she was able to hit the barrel of my gun, not only making me miss but also freezing the front of my laspistol with the muzzle being blocked by ice.

I holstered it in the meantime and switched to my shield, going on defense as I try to figure something out. The shield was barely getting frozen upon being hit Neon's glowsticks, with glazes of ice falling off from the shield. Upon realizing that The Désir Ardent was practically immune to these types of attacks, I shoved my shield at her, pushing her back. I began to rapidly bash her with my shield while I continue blocking her attempted swings.

It was enough to force her to change tactics. She fled and began skating near the ruined buildings on the biome. "Catch me if you can, cutie!" she taunted.

I took out my pistol and held the trigger as the laser cuts through the ice that it was engulfed into until it was shattered and a laser blast burst toward the ground I was aiming at. Seeing how my laspistol has returned to a functional state, I began shooting at Neon as she skated around the wreckage. Although her rainbow trails made it easy for her to track down, I still found myself missing her even with the speed of the laser blasts. She desperately dodged the laser fire, leaping into one of the ruined buildings and then jumping down.

"Never miss a beat, never miss a beat," she audibly uttered to herself whilst repeating them.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha leaped back to the center, away from Flynt's range when he was blowing flames that were leaking from the volcanic ground toward her. She noticed Neon rushing towards her position. Pyrrha spun back and swung her spear at Neon as she attempted to pass through, tumbling her to the floor. As Neon got up, the two girls began trading swings as they dragged their fight elsewhere.

I stepped into the center and found myself confronting Flynt. And from what I've seen he was about as tricky as Neon in his own way. Instead of running around with agile attacks, he mostly remains stationary with the use of his trumpet and the dust it utilizes. Although it doesn't seem much and from what I gathered, even Pyrrha had difficulties fighting him.

He once again used his trumpet's sound waves to hurl me away before I had the chance to fire at him. I landed on the sandy surface of the desert biome. As I got up I saw him walking toward me. I got up and pulled my pistol's trigger as I aimed it at him. He zigzagged away from the gunfire, stepping from side to side before blowing on his trumpet again, only this time it was aimed at the sand and the soundwaves unleashed a sandstorm in front of me that not only pushed me back, it also fogged my field of view with clouds of sand. The loud resonance of the trumpet didn't help either.

I closed my eyes and covered them with my left arm. I had difficulties moving forward with the sandstorm forcing me back. The next thing he did was to summon three copies of himself. The copies respectively wore yellow, green, and magenta in the place of the original Flynt's cyan color on this trim and tie to make themselves look distinct from one another. They surrounded me from my back and both of my sides, blowing their own trumpets and multiplying the effect of the sandstorm.

"What's this?" asked a shocked Professor Port from the announcer's box.

"It appears young Flynt has just activated his Semblance! And quite a remarkable one at that. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on Flynt Coal's Killer Quartet!" Doctor Oobleck answered.

I was pinned down in the center with soundwaves coming from every relative direction that they were becoming sharp enough to drain my aura. I was able to realize that the original Flynt remained somewhere on my front. I didn't even have to make a quick peek to look for the cyan color that gave away the original body. My arm fought the force of the sandstorm until it was able to aim straight in front of me. I blind fired at my front until eventually hit him. His copies all merged back to the original body upon being shot at and the sandstorm faded away.

"Looks like our hero just made a heroic recovery!" Professor Port remarked followed by cheers from the crowd along with audible squealing from my fangirls.

Once I was free to move again, I promptly sprung next to him. I swung a flurry of slashes at him with my sword before kicking him back and then using my shield to bash his face hard enough that it knocked him back to the center of the stage. Flynt got up as he flipped back. He adjusted his glasses before attempting to blow me away with his trumpet, only this time—I was quick enough to fire back before he could, even hitting his trumpet that it almost flew out of his hand.

Neon then fell to the center while being her weapon was tangled up in Pyrrha's javelin as she was holding it. Pyrrha caught up and she retrieved her weapon using her polarity as she reunited by my side.

"Let's go get FNKI." I said to Pyrrha, uttering a one-liner so bad it would make Yang blush.

She made an affirming nod as we turned back to our opponents. Neon swung her nunchakus once again as Flynt flipped his hat. I looked at the scoreboard and saw that our opponents only have half of their auras remaining while I still have most of my aura and Pyrrha only suffered a very minimal amount of damage so far. The tides of battle were shifting to our favor, we just need to keep it that way and end this once and for all.

"You're on!" Flynt called out, reading his trumpet as his partner continued to skate.

"Pyrrha, toot!" I signaled. Not my best impression of an elephant but she got the message so that didn't matter.

As the soundwaves approached us Pyrrha rolled to her left and out of its range while I get engulfed in the gush of wind. Although the pressure of the soundwaves kept pushing me back, Pyrrha held my armor with her polarity as she uses it on aiding me to move inside the soundwaves while she around the corner, avoiding its range as Flynt turned around in an attempt to tug her in it.

Neon went inside the soundwaves and once again engaged with me on melee. I parried away her the flails of her weapon and resorting with my shield when I notice her use elemental dust before bashing her with it.

"Never miss a beat, never miss a beat, never miss a beat!" she continued her mantra as we battled inside the wave of Flynt's trumpet.

I noticed that the dreaded volcanic biome was behind me. I knew there was an opportunity to knock her out with it so I took it. "Pyrrha, now!" I ordered. Upon hearing that, she let go of my armor, allowing the soundwaves to push me back to the volcanic biome. I landed on its surface with my own two feet as my gaze continues to focus on Neon, who was still focusing on me.

I hope you enjoy ice-skating too, kitty cat, I said to myself.

As she rushed toward me with her rollerblades. I grabbed the vial of ice dust Rouge gave me the previous day from my pocket and threw it on the ground in front of her.

"Never miss a beat, never miss a beat, never miss a—OW—WOAH!" Her mantra was interrupted when she lost her balance on the puddle before slipping. She uncontrollably slid into a pool of lava as it erupted. The blast of lava launched her to the air before falling to the volcanic surface, now covered in ashes with hardly enough aura to continue.

"You're beat," I quipped at her as the match declares her as K.O. She groaned and lied her head down to the igneous ground. Thanks, Rouge. I really should use dust more often from now on.

"Neon Katt has been defeated by aura! Be careful when skating, children, or this might happen to you!" Professor Port announced before reminiscing about his youth like he usually does whether stories about them are true or not. "Ah, I do miss skateboarding back in the day… But that's a story for another time!"

The audience cheered in applause for my victory, but it wasn't over yet. Pyrrha still had to put Flynt down before we could call it a win.

Pyrrha was holding her ground inside Flynt's soundwaves with her shield raised. She used her weapon's rifle mode and fire at Flynt, halting him from using his trumpet. She then threw her shield, hitting his head, before pulling it back to her as she stormed at him. Pyrrha changed her weapon into a spear and swiped him upwards into the air. She sprung toward Flynt and rapidly send slashes at him before throwing him to a geyser spout. Flynt gets caught on the top of the geyser before falling to the ground with his aura on the red, a second before Pyrrha landed.

"And the match ends on a high note! Flynt Coal has been defeated! Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos win this match!" Dr. Oobleck declared.

The audience began exclaiming screams of joy before chanting both of our names. I walked back into the center with Pyrrha and gave her a high five for a job well done. Flynt slowly got up and Neon trudged toward us, still covered in ashes.

"Oh… my… gosh…" Neon muttered before her expression became jubilant. "That was awesome! We just got our butts kicked by Pyrrha Nikos and her handsome hero of a boyfriend!"

"Whoa-whoa, we're not dating yet!" I exclaimed as both Pyrrha and I blushed. I really need to do something about our relationships so these increasingly common remarks become less awkward to us.

"Aww, you two are so cute together!" Neon remarked, "You guys really are the duo of the year."

"Well, I'll guess I'll be writing a song on how you beat me," Flynt said.

"You did a good job too," I told him, "It's nice knowing Atlas will have talented Huntsmen like you to keep them safe."

"Coming from someone like you, that's a lot. Thanks." Flynt said as he gave me a friendly tip with his fedora. "You won't be disappointed."

"No problem. I should listen to your songs sometime. I like listening to a little jazz myself." Besides, I needed something to listen to that isn't the sound of a trumpet when he 'attacks' us. That sound is going to be stuck on my mind until I replace it with something more pleasant.

Neon zoomed between us, putting an arm on our shoulders. "That was the best fight I ever had! I totally should throw a party after this! Want to come?"

"Sure, why not?" Pyrrha replied.

"Yay!"

Well, that settles it for round two. Knowing that Pyrrha would automatically represent us for the final round, this was my last match. Finally.

Was the fight tough? Of course, it was. Was it worth it? Most definitely. No need to worry about fighting anymore. I can now slack off the remaining school year and just do my own thing. The Hero of Beacon's work is finally fucking done for this year. Now it's time for him to take a much needed break. A long one preferably.

 **=o=**

1\. _Although it was true that I was knocked out during that match, I still contributed a major factor that eventually led to our team's victory. My sacrifice did not go in vain and Yang can thank me for that._

2\. _It's a combat skirt—in the same vein as mine and Ruby's, so it still technically suitable for combat despite its appearance._

* * *

Pyrrha and I sat at the edge of the rooftop where we usually practice, drinking the shakes we bought from the fairgrounds after the round was finished. Neon invited us for a party later that night, but first, we chose to spend some time together and contemplate our recent victory.

"For a second there, I thought we might never even win," I said after taking a sip from the straw on my chocolate shake, "Those two were wilder than I thought."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Pyrrha replied, glancing on her drink. "I don't lose a lot anymore so I have kind of forgot to know what it feels like, but the fear of losing never seems to leave you no matter how used you are to victory."

"Pretty much. I'd say you should try losing sometime. You'll learn to be humble and more accepting of defeat. Of course, I'm not telling you to lose the next match. I'm just saying that while having the title of being undefeated is nice and all, you shouldn't get too used to winning or else your ego might get the best of you. And besides, you learn better from losing than you do winning." I answered, even though the truth is that I mostly got my knowledge through experience itself and I tend to avoid battles I know I can't win. Even in instances where I'm supposed to lose, I usually wind up getting saved by one of my allies or by some sort of fortuitous intervention from the Gods above that helped win the fight for me.

"You're right," she looked down and gave a poignant look. "You know, it's been a while since I lost a fight."

My lips left my drink's straw as I stared at her curiously. "Which is?"

"I don't remember anymore," she answered. "All I know is that it happened a long time ago and that my winning streak began after that."

"Oh, well, okay then," I said. That answer was already good enough for me.

"To be honest, Jaune, I envy you," she admitted, catching the fullest of my attention. "You are able to be this successful and live what many dream of, yet you are still able to remain as one of the humblest people I know. How?"

I looked away from her for a moment. Thinking of an answer befitting on what she just described me as. "I don't know. Maybe I just feel too modest that I think about those who aren't as lucky as I am and I just wanted to know that at the end of the day, I'm just like them and that they can be like me too," I answered.

But anyone who has been reading these knows that it's because I'm not actually proud of my own success, to begin with, if you could even call it that. The glory I have could have been given to someone who is much more deserving than I do. But no, it all has to go to some idiot who tried to run away from bank robberies he supposedly foiled at least twice so far. Because of me, no one is giving enough credit or attention to those with actual merits, and I genuinely feel bad about it.

Pyrrha smiled warmly at me. "Well, whatever the case, you do make a great role-model for everyone; not just Huntsmen or those who are seeking to be a hero."

If that what you think, then I can't really stop you. I sighed internally before returning the expression. "I'm glad I have someone like you to talk to about things like this, Pyrrha."

Her cheeks reddened for a moment, "Me too. It was my pleasure, Jaune."

It just shows how much we truly care for one another and it was enough to tell me that I should stop betraying her trust. I knew that if I really do care for her, then I should be sincere to her. Weiss was right; I can't keep hiding my secrets from her anymore. She deserved to know the truth, my own selfishness be damned. I've been wearing a deceiving mask for too long now that she deserved to see the genuine Jaune Arc beneath it.

"Pyrhha…"

"Yes, Jaune?" she turned and her emerald eyes met with my own.

Despite my persistence to tell her the truth about myself, I regrettably hesitated. There was a nagging feeling that prevented me from confessing to her. Maybe it was too soon? Perhaps, but I decided that I wanted to spend more time with her and tell her about it for tomorrow. I just felt like I wasn't ready yet.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" I asked, "You know just the two of us."

Her eyes widened in uncertainty as her blush became stronger. Awkwardness inhabited the atmosphere between us. "As partners of course," I added to dispel any doubts she was having.

After a few seconds, she finally answered. "I would love to."

"Oh, great." I beamed. "So, tomorrow then?"

She nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow."

We spent the next minutes in silence. Just enjoying the orange sky; watching the birds fly into the sunset, feeling nothing but peace and the comforting presence of a friend I trust. But the tender moment vanished when I felt an anomaly intruding the peace between us. My senses pointed me toward the rooftop's door and I almost immediately identified the cause of the disturbance. "I know you're there, Nora. You can come out now!"

My suspicions were proven correct when I found Nora along with a few other people wearing the same shirt as her rudely eavesdropping on the stairs behind the door. "Oh, crud! Abort the mission!" she exclaimed as one of them slammed the door close. I could hear them stomp the stairs as they rushed down.

Oh geez, no wonder why I hesitated. I'm actually glad that I didn't fess up then. Would have certainly ruined the moment in more ways than one.

Pyrrha and I both stared in befuddlement over Nora's recent antic before shrugging it off. It was just Nora being Nora, something we have grown accustomed to since day one.

Pyrrha's scroll ringtone resonated. She took it out from her pocket and read the message she received before standing up. "I have to go."

"What is it?"

"It's something important. I can't say for now. I'll tell you about it soon enough." She answered as she headed for the door downstairs.

"Okay then. Take care."

"You too," she said before closing the rooftop's door.

After that, I was alone in the rooftop, finishing my chocolate shake as I watched the view, thinking about tomorrow and not to mention updating the very thing you're reading.

Without any more matches or assignments to worry about, I finally can go easy now. I thought I'd never see this day. The problems that remain was that I still need to confess to Pyrrha about myself and hope that it wouldn't ruin our relationship because I'm doing this for our sake. My other problem would the Triad's drug supplier. I can only pray that the police would be able to do something about them before they get a chance to hunt me down. I just want to spend the last days of my first year in peace.

I've been playing this game for too long now. Whatever awaits me, I'll be ready for it.

* * *

 **Fall is coming…**

 **By the way, Neptune's ringtone is an actual rap you can listen to by MOONMOON_OW when he was roleplaying on GTA. You can listen to it on soundcloud. It's glorious.**

 **soundcloud,com / yungdabtherapper/fuk-tha-police-feat-slim**

 **As for the twins' song, sorry, I'm not exactly a songwriter myself so I don't have any lyrics written. All I could say that it's a lighthearted pop song about encouraging someone especially while their down, the rest is left to the reader's imagination.**

 **Speaking of music, the Spotify playlist mentioned in previous chapters updates after every new chapter. Give it a listen if you haven't yet.**

 **Without spoiling anything much, Volume 7 is pretty great so far. I'm still having mixed feelings about the character's new designs. Seriously, Jaune and Ruby's ship might as well be renamed as 'The Bad Hair Couple'. Who the hell taught this was a good idea? But overall, I'm enjoying this new volume. I hope they don't screw it up, RT have already embarrassed themselves enough this year.**


	13. Last Leaf Falling

_Editorial Note:_

 _The following chapter will begin after another extract from one of Headmaster Ozpin's logs, which occurred during the meeting Pyrrha attended shortly after the end of the preceding chapter. The extract provides vital information, insights, and context behind the events that would shortly be recounted in these accounts as well as providing the reader some deeper understanding about the Maidens and Ozpin's intergenerational shadow war against Salem, uncovering secrets that were hidden from the world at the time._

The Ozpin Logs: The Next Fall Maiden

So far, the festival has been nothing short of convivial as it should be, with the only incident so far being Qrow's confrontation with Winter Schnee, and even that was not disrupting enough to spoil the people's enjoyment from the festival and nobody was harmed from it apart from one of James' expendable war machines.

It does not mean we can make any respites, however. The festival was always a recurring event for our adversaries to take advantage of. Salem's previous attempts of taking action during the festival are far from her last. And as such, even in a time of peace, we still need to remain prudent until we are certain that Salem and her forces have stopped.

Our successful countermeasures against The White Fang and Merlot did not stop James from deploying extra security in Vale for the festival, knowing Salem's forces are afoot if recent incidents are any indication. The recent drug epidemic in the kingdom was not helping matters, and the UCC is doing everything they can to end it. I have to congratulate Jaune once again for his contribution in exposing one of the sources responsible for it—thereby accelerating the progress of ridding the drugs from the kingdom.

Anyhow, the tournament was booming with activity—with the second round coming to a pass as audiences from all over the world watch in thrill of the exuberant matches involving two members of one team against another pair. Among these matches include Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos competing against a Flynt Coal and Neon Katt from Team FNKI of Atlas Academy. As expected, Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos stood victorious during the match and it was still a compelling battle as the fascination of the matches involving was not about the outcome of the battle but on how they would remain triumphant against their opponents, no matter the odds.

Both Arc and Nikos never ceased to amaze me. They have given me nothing but good impressions over these months despite their individual flaws, especially the former's. Pyrrha Nikos, in particular, made a perfect candidate that I did not waste any further time in choosing her to become the next Fall Maiden. Though there were several other viable options, the girls of Team RWBY being an example, Pyrrha was simply unmatched, even surpassing her more experienced upperclassmen.

She was perfect. Her combination of skill, intelligence and altruism are all qualities that made her a very suitable candidate that there was no reason not to choose her as the next Fall Maiden. I approached her for a secret assignment a few days prior which she gladly accepted.

After the second round of the tournament concluded, I summoned her to my office. There were three individuals in the room. Pyrrha, myself and Qrow, who was still in a bitter mood, especially concerning James. I congratulated Pyrrha for her victory during that round as she informs me it won't be her last battle during the tournament as she was selected to represent her team for the finals involving matches between individual members of one team.

"Well, it comes as no surprise that they have chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary."

She humbly nodded, "Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates."

"Hey, cereal girl, I know you guys are really that great and all, but I think you're giving them too much credit. I'm sure you would have got here without their help," Qrow stated, leaning against the column behind my study, speaking with his rough voice that was distinct enough that you could tell that he was him, drunk or otherwise. "You can thank your track record, your semblance you partner's traits that he inherited from his daddy and his stupidly powerful laser gun for that. Not to mention, Oz' downright idiotic matchmaking system."

"Now, now, Qrow. I know you're still upset but we don't want Miss Nikos here to feel unwelcomed now."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced," Pyrrha said as she turned toward him.

"The name's Qrow. Spelled with a 'Q' by the way, in case you'll write that down." **[1]** He replied, still speaking in a disgruntled tone.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." I informed Pyrrha, "I'm sure you have heard of him from an incident roughly two days ago?"

She took a brief moment to look back at that occasion before recognizing the name that was mentioned to her. "So, you must be Yang and Ruby's uncle."

"You really are that bright for a cereal mascot," He snickered. "Yes, you are looking at the one and only Uncle Qrow." The hostility remained in his voice, but it was alleviated to an extent. "Now give this girl a prize by telling her what this is all about now."

"Please, take a seat," I told her. She promptly complied before I made my inquiry. "What is your favourite fairy tale?"

She appeared puzzled at my question. "I'm sorry?"

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood," I elaborated. "Surely you must remember some of them."

Although she remained slightly confused over the seemingly random question, she gave me some answers. "Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..."

While all three of them hold some meaningful relevance for me, I suggested a much more pertinent tale. One that is one of the key factors to the very meeting she was present at. "What about The Story of the Seasons?"

"Well, of course!" she answered before recounting the tale, or at least the more popularized, gentler version of it that is often considered as the defined retelling of the story, contrary to the original version which was relatively closer to what truly happened.

It was a story about a callous, elderly hermit who refuses to leave his own house when he was visited by four travelling sisters, each representing one of the four seasons. The sisters performed acts of kindness towards the old man as they encouraged him to embrace the world around him. This leads the old man to see the good in people. To repay the kindness of the four girls, the old man gifted them with supernatural powers, that they may use it to help others until the end of times.

"Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The Four Maidens," she concluded. "My mother loves that story."

I gave a smile, showing how impressed I am on her knowledge of the story and asked, "Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"

She resonated a brief laugh, thinking that I was making a jest. "You're not that old, Professor."

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" I asked as I shifted to a more solemn tone.

After noticing that I was being serious with my word. She hesitated, glancing around the room before replying with utmost scepticism. "I beg your pardon?"

"What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?" I inquired her.

She was still confused as she continued to inquire about the subject matter. "You mean like a Semblance?

"Like magic."

She paused, unsure of what to answer. "I…"

"Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy," Qrow interjected.

"You're serious?" She turned back to me

I sternly stared at her uncertain gaze. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

She took a moment to absorb that question before conceding. "No," she silently stared into the ground, at a loss of further words, putting the office into a moment of silence before she gave another question, "What does this have to do with my assignment?"

In order for me to answer that, she had to answer this question first. "Are you familiar with the Ruinous Powers, Miss Nikos?"

Her gaze returned to mine. "I haven't. I take it that they have something to do with magic?"

"You're not mistaken. I do not blame you if you are not aware of them. Knowledge of the ruinous powers is dangerous enough of itself. But if we are to proceed, I'm going to need you to explain them to you. I trust that would you acknowledge the risks that on what we will bring you and that you're going to keep this between us for the sake of everyone's benefit?"

She gave a single nod without a word. I gave her a content look, impressed with how she was handling this so far despite how dangerous this is. This was one of the reasons why I have chosen her for this affair. This shows how ready she was regardless of the circumstance.

"Very well, then," I remarked as I began to divulge her of the beings in question. "The Ruinous Powers are four demonic entities from a realm known as The Warp. Their powers are fuelled by everyday emotions, making them worse than the Grimm as they find their powers to be alluring," I explained, standing up from my chair as I walked to the window behind me. "They are known as The Gods of Chaos. Khorne, The Blood God; Tzeentch, The Changer of Ways; Nurgle the Plague Lord and Slaanesh, The Prince of Pleasure. All four of them have distinct motives and agendas. But with all of their unholy powers combined they can render the full powers of Chaos in its fullest potential that could undoubtedly bring about the end of our world as we know it **[2]**."

I stared at the view of the Academy from my tower as I continue my lecture. "The Warp, the dimension they reside in, is the source of all the magical powers the Maidens possessed." I continued as I turned back to face her again. "And while we're on the subject, let me tell you that many fairy tales were actually quite grim; these types of stories tend to be expurgated, being softened and given happy endings to make them less appalling so that these tales may no longer feed the Grimm by inspiring fear. The story of the Four Maidens is one of them."

This caught her interest. "Really? Then how did the original tale go then?"

"In the original story, they were depicted as unfortunate women who were cursed by an evil wizard with dangerous powers that they may use it to bring havoc on every path they take until they eventually die, in which their powers pass to another host in a never-ending cycle. The women who possess these powers are regarded as witches and are often treated with contempt, usually ending with them getting burned at a stake."

Pyrrha stared at me as she listened while I walked back to my study, sighing to myself that I have to recall some unpleasant memories that always haunted me every single day. "Today, they are considered as an urban legend as sightings of their power have become much rarer over the past few ages. But it does not change the fact that most of the story is true."

I continued, "The Maidens truly are cursed with magical powers and they do get passed into another host upon death, and it was true that they were persecuted back then. Since these powers came from The Warp which is often tied to the Chaos Gods —the powers they hold are demonic in nature, but not every host is inheritably bad; some only wanted to go on with their daily lives while others genuinely wanted to use these powers for altruistic means. And we are here to make sure that these powers are only used for good. If they don't then they are in danger of being corrupted by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, making them closer into putting the world into an end."

As I finished explaining to her regarding the truth about the Maidens and their powers, I went back on sitting at my chair. "Now do you understand what is at stake here?"

She remained speechless, pondering on everything she was told. "I don't… know what to say."

"I know this is a lot to take in, but we need you right now, and you're one of the few who are qualified enough to take up this task," I said. "So please, Pyrrha, the fate of the world is counting on us."

She gave me a hesitant look, taking a short time to reflect on it before finally giving a proper response. "What do you need me to do?"

I flashed a content smile as I answered, "We need you to be the next host of the Fall Maiden's Powers."

She was shocked upon hearing that revelation, as well as confused over my use of a plural pronoun. "We?" She uttered a moment before turning to the elevator when Glynda and James finally arrived. Right on cue, I may add.

"Sorry we're late," James apologized as he and Glynda stepped out from the elevator.

"Professor Goodwitch? General Ironwood?"

"Fret not, Miss Nikos. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon." Glynda reassured.

"Except we've got a little part-time job," Qrow added as he stood beside the two.

"We are the protectors of the world," James followed.

"And we need your help," I finished.

It took a short moment for her to contemplate. "I know you have a lot of questions, Pyrrha, which is why we would like you to come with us. There is something we would like to show you. We will tell you everything you need to know." I stood from my chair and led her to the elevator.

We bought her to the vault located in the lowest underground level of the Beacon Tower which was only accessible to a few individuals. Almost all of those aforementioned individuals were present during that particular moment.

We explained to her the procedures of the Maiden's powers, elaborating on how they transfer to another host. We told her that they not only transfer to young women specifically upon death but who was in their final thoughts as well. Otherwise, their powers get transferred arbitrarily to another young woman who were more difficult to track down. Fortunately, such occurrences are rare. However, it also meant that our enemies are just aware of who the next maiden is, and on those circumstances, we had to act with haste.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Honestly, we've run out of time," Qrow answered candidly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. Chaos is getting closer into dooming us all. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long gets thrown out the window."

"You're not talking about a war?" she further asked after receiving that impression.

"Not a war between nations," James replied.

"We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen," Qrow stated.

When we finally arrived at the edge of the vault's hallway, we approached the two pods attached to a large machine between them. One of the pods was empty while the other stood upright and was occupied. This was when Pyrrha met Amber for the first time.

"Is that..." Pyrrha uttered after seeing her lying unconscious inside the pod's glass window.

I made a regretful sigh before I finished her sentence. "The current Fall Maiden—Amber."

Amber was still in the state she always has been since we found her; lying unconscious inside one of the pods that were continuously maintaining her life through the use of her aura with nothing but undergarments and a burn mark on her face which she received shortly after being put into a comatose.

"She's... still alive."

"For now," James added. "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked apprehensively.

He made a regretful sigh, "Well, we don't know what will happen if—when she passes."

"Won't her power just transfer to the next host?"

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow exclaimed before whispering at me. "She is smart."

"Under normal circumstances, yes." James nodded. "But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." He turned back to Amber. "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant…" Pyrrha followed.

"And that would not bode well for any of us," I stated.

Pyrrha looked down for a moment to cogitation before she stepped in front of Amber's pod. She put a hand on the window as she continued to ponder the revelation that was given to her. "So, if I were to obtain her powers, wouldn't that mean I would have some sort of connection to The Warp that you mentioned?"

As much as I impressed that she was able to follow with all the information that we gave to her, I was regretful that I had to respond with the harsh truth. "Sadly, yes. Being the source of all magic where the Chaos Gods also reside, it is one dimension that is too precarious to a normal human mind as it is enigmatic. It requires strong mental willpower to withstand its effects. This is one of the reasons why knowledge of the Warp is better off being hidden from the rest of the world. Chaos is already growing stronger every day through mere emotions, and if they become public knowledge that more people would start worshipping them directly, things will only get worse."

"So that means her attacker now has some connection to the Warp thanks to the Maiden's powers," she mused.

"Correct, which is why we need to take immediate action as soon as possible."

"There are already several Chaos cults scattered around Remnant for years now. Worshipping either one or more of the Chaos Gods if not all of them," James explained. "Most of the people who are aware of them believe them to be nothing more than enigmatic if menacing cults with questionable beliefs, and we are doing our best to keep it that way. They seek the Maidens since they view their connection to the Warp as keys to their religion. Weo cannot allow them and their powers to fall into their hands."

Pyrrha's hand withdrew from the window. "How do you know all of this? Especially if most of this is forbidden knowledge," she queried.

"This order has been around longer than you can imagine, and all I can say for now is that we have our ways," I answered. The Order has a complex background that can be described clearly and laconically, but these are things that she's not yet ready to hear.

"From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge," Glynda stepped in. "But as you know, there are those who are hungry for power that seeks the Maidens to inherit their strength. Hence why we removed them from the public eye that their existence faded to legend."

"Every legend and fairy tale had to start from somewhere, even the craziest ones are told because of this. This group was founded so that neither the Maidens nor the people end up destroying the world along with themselves," Qrow described as he pulled his flask and took a drink from it before continuing. "The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history; that includes religion. **[3]** Why else do you think that why we don't want the world to learn about all of this?"

"It would cause panic. And we all know what that would bring to The Ruinous Powers and our Kingdom's walls." I concluded before going back to the topic of the Fall Maiden. "Which is why we would like to—"

"I'll do it," Pyrrha interjected, earning our collective attention. "If you believe that this will help humanity—then I will become your Fall Maiden," she asserted. Although we expected her to take up the task, we were not prepared to hear this declaration. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

As much as we were elated that she decided to accept a pivotal responsibility, there were still some ramifications to be wary of due to how delicate this was, even to the likes of her. "It is, but I am afraid it is not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you will not be able to inherit her power naturally," I explained to her. "However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used." James explained, "We've made significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it."

"Capture it and cram it into something else," Qrow added before looking at Pyrrha contemptuously. "Or in your case—"

Pyrrha took a moment to absorb that statement before discerning what he was trying to convey. She turned toward James. "That's—"

"Classified," James interjected.

"...Wrong!"

"The feeling is mutual," Glynda glared at James beside her before looking back at Pyrrha. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times," James stated as he stepped in. "We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to,"

"Her Aura…" Pyrrha perceived.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is, what would happen to you?" I asked rhetorically. "You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There is no guarantee this transfer will work. And there is no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

She looked back at Amber again to contemplate before staring back at us as I continued.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be…"

She kept looking at us silently before giving us a nod, a response which was adequate enough for the time being. The meeting concluded afterward; everything that needed to be said was done. While it was safe to assume that she now inherits the position especially after telling her sensitive information, it was ideal to allow her to finish the tournament before we carry out this procedure.

I admit it was regretful giving someone who has a bright future ahead of them with such responsibility. But this what Huntsmen are made for; to give out their lives for the sake of a better world. And I know that she will fulfill her duty.

 **=o=**

1. _Had he told that to Jaune sooner, it would have saved me from some work, even if most of them were just a simple change in letters._

2\. _Commonly known as Chaos Undivided. It is still regarded as a theory however, as the Chaos Gods and their followers are often in conflict with one another._

3\. _It is worth mentioning that any religions which do not worship the Chaos Gods are often the main source of starving them off due to people channeling their emotions to different gods instead (whether they exist or not) rather than refusing to believe them at all which was a common misconception prior to that discovery when it was usually thought that the gods were powered by belief._

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **Last Leaf Falling**

* * *

 _"Grief, disappointment and despair, all begin with hope."_

 _ **-Inside the Mind of Ozma: The Bearer of The Curse.**_

What did I do wrong to come to this?

I always knew that my lies won't last forever; it was only a matter of time until someone discovers the truth one way or another, but I did everything I could to uphold this charade to spare them from experiencing the pain of realizing that all of my achievements that they respected me for were unmerited. But in the end, it was all for nothing.

Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and all of Team RWBY stared at me with varying expressions of disappointment, betrayal, fury, disbelief or regret; frankly, I couldn't blame them. They just discovered that someone who they thought was a hero, friend, and leader turning out to be a selfish fake who used them for his advantage to get through his hectic school years. They had every right to hate me.

Pyrrha stood in front of the group, her emerald eyes were fixed at my own, tearing in dismay, hoping that this was nothing but a cruel joke. I could almost see my pitiful reflection as I gaze back. "Is it true? That everything we thought about you was a lie all along."

To my regret, I could only nod silently. I already deceived her for too long now and there was no point making more white lies as they would only make this worse. I couldn't do anything but to remain idle and admit to everything I have been hiding from them since the beginning and it was far too late to apologize.

She woefully squeezed her eyes shut, barely fighting back her tears. Her fist clenched as I feel my armor quiver from her magnetism. I expected her to hurl me away with it, but nothing happened. She unclenched her fist as the sensation leaves my armor before putting her disappointed gaze at me again. "If you cared about us, you would have told us. You would have been honest. But you didn't, and that says a lot."

I silently stared at them ashamedly before my eyes fell to the ground which felt like a black void as I could not even remember where I was standing anymore. Ruby was noticeably weeping; Weiss was folding her arms as she shook her head. Blake averted her gaze with her ears turned back; Yang's eyes furiously blinked red, being that repulsed to my existence alone; Ren likewise glared at me while Nora closed her eyes, facing the ground.

Pyrrha spoke again, "Why, Jaune. Why must you lie to us like this?"

I made a sorrowful sigh as I looked at her green eyes and gave her my explanation. "I didn't know what else to do. It was stuck with me and I thought you'd hate me if I told you the truth. But it looks like that wouldn't have made a difference, now would it?"

I was so afraid at what might happen that it only ended up as another testimony of my spineless cowardice. Sometimes I asked myself why I even bother to continue lying at those who called me a friend when I knew this was going to happen eventually.

She kept glaring at me, barely fighting back her grief. "I-I still can't believe this. I thought you were my friend, my partner, our leader. If you're not really the Jaune we grew to know then who are you?"

"I'm nothing," I regretfully stared at them as I finally told them who I truly am.

After she took a brief moment to contemplate, she stood upright and reasserted her calm, yet furious glare. "If you're really that much of a coward that you had to pretend to be something else and have the audacity to lie to us about it, then maybe you deserve to be treated as nothing," she growled coldly.

Part of me wanted to apologize but I knew that an apology won't fix all the bridges I burned behind their backs. I don't believe I deserved any pity anyway. I took advantage of their friendship; I manipulated them into believing something I'm not; I took all glory away from the true heroes, and I did all of those things being fully aware of it. I deserved all of this.

She then turned away from me and led everyone out. Ruby gave me a disheartened glance before following the other girls. Ren simply shook his head before walking away as well.

"Nora?" I looked at her standing, sorrowfully staring at me for one last time. Tears were dripping out from her turquoise eyes when she turned her away her gaze and followed Ren without uttering a single word.

The only person remaining was Weiss who continued to frown at me. She appeared aggrieved at before shifting to a more regretful expression. "I trusted you…"

"Maybe you shouldn't have," I grieved.

"I wish I didn't at all," she turned away her icy gaze and walked out.

I was all alone, left with nothing but guilt and ruminations of my wrongdoings. I didn't do anything further other than to stand there. Disheartened, defeated, without any more friends, and without any more will to move forward, let alone a clue of what to do next.

There was nothing left.

As the growing abyss of darkness was about to engulf me, I suddenly woke up. My heart pounded rapidly as I took heavy breaths before I looked around my surroundings and realized that I was at my dorm, lying on my bed.

It was thankfully all just a dream, but even still, it felt like a cautionary vision of what might happen if I didn't set things right when it is too late. My secrets were still hidden and I still have plenty of time left, but if I were to make sure this nightmare won't become a reality, I would have to tell them the truth sooner, no matter how taxing it would be; and I already decided that I will confess to Pyrrha later that day.

Rubbing my eyes, I continued to scan around my dorm before seeing that Nora was pounding the bathroom door. "Hurry up, Ren! I can't hold it for much longer!" she yelled anxiously.

"Defecating is an art, Nora. You can't rush art," Ren responded while inside the bathroom. That sounded like something Ren would say, but at the same time, it doesn't. It wasn't the most appropriate thing to hear after an upsetting nightmare, but those very words were everything I needed to hear to assure myself that all was well.

Thankfully for Nora, the door opened not long after. The toilet flushed before Ren walked out of the bathroom. "Finally!" Nora exclaimed, rushing inside before slamming the door shut.

"She really never gets tired, does she?" I asked Ren as I sat at my bed. Nora partied hard for the previous night and was still full of energy even when heading to bed. She wasn't able to sleep until much later in that night and she was still able to wake up earlier than us as vibrant as ever. We tried to tell her to slow down and save most of it after Pyrrha wins the final round for us, but it did not make her any less excited over our victory for the previous round. If this is how she celebrates our win for the doubles round, one cannot imagine how she is going to celebrate when we win the finals shortly before our first year comes to an end. All I know is that we brace for it.

"Maybe when she eats more pancakes than her stomach can handle, but I doubt that she'll ever reach her limit," he hypothesized.

"Oh, okay," I said. There was simply no way to wear her out, even if she gets tired, she'll only need a few hours of sleep before waking up fully rested. Sleeping in the same room with her was quite a challenge because she snores louder than Torchwick's screaming when she broke his bones. Thankfully, I was able to get used to it as time went on.

I was rather thankful that she was a short sleeper because it meant that I wouldn't have to bear with it for too long. I have to feel bad for Ren for dealing with this every night, at least I stay in a separate room with thick walls from my rowdy sisters. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn't feed Nora any sugar.

"As much as I want to spend some time alone and let someone else look after her, everyone seems like they're going somewhere so I'm stuck with her again," he said with an exasperated sigh.

"Nothing you can't handle, buddy," I told him. If there's anyone who can babysit someone like Nora, it's him. She hasn't broken him yet after being stuck with her for half of his life and that's saying something because I can't imagine putting up with Nora for more than several years, let alone half my life. Being on the same team as her as well as being her leader for three more years is already asking too much, and I'm still not sure if I will be around for that long. At least my sisters give me a break. This slightly brightened him up, which was hard to tell since I rarely see Ren change his expression.

"So anyway, where's Pyrrha?" I quizzed as I stood from my bed, noticing that she was the only team member not present in the dorm.

"She's sparring with the girls in the combat hall. She thought she'd practice for tomorrow while she still has time before your date, or a 'totally platonic hangout' as Nora would call it," he replied.

I still wasn't sure if these two are even dating or not. For as long they are together, they still seem indecisive if they want to treat their relationship as romantic or not and it would probably stay that way until one of them do something about it. And it looks like my relationship with Pyrrha would get there first even though we've only known each other for a relatively short period. It's kind of sad if you think about it.

"Look, just give us some time, then maybe you can say we're really dating."

"Whatever you say. Just treat her well, alright?" He said, walking back toward his study.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" I nodded at him right before the bathroom door abruptly popped open.

"You're finally going on a date?!" Nora happily shouted, being thrilled by the implication that she and Beacon's favorite freshman duo is going together. "Where you two going? Are you going to take her to the movies? To a romantic dinner date? Oh! Maybe you two could watch the fireworks later tonight?!"

I exhaled through my nose, not being surprised by her reaction at this point. "Maybe one or two of those things, Nora. Just let us learn to know each other more and we'll see how it goes from there. Alright, Nora?"

She nodded. "Roger-Dodger! Go get her, Fearless Leader!"

Don't get too excited, Nora, there's a chance that this might end up being our last date, I mumbled as I proceeded to my daily routine before I go meet Pyrrha, taking a blissful shower and an appetizing snack to wipe out all remaining thoughts about the nightmare I just had. The only thing left to do is to prevent the possibility of it ever happening and I was determined to make sure of it.

* * *

I headed to the combat hall after taking my breakfast. Upon entering, I saw Blake and Yang pitting themselves against Pyrrha. A battle between three of the most popular girls among Beacon's freshmen, **[1]** something that a fair amount of people dreamed of seeing especially the more perverted ones that get off to Huntresses getting it on with each other, it's a popular fetish these days and I'd be a complete hypocrite if I didn't admit that I was also guilty of enjoying it. Gods forgive me. **[2]**

The match was presumably to give Pyrrha some extra challenge while Yang also gets to practice since they told me that she would represent Team RWBY in the next round. She was also able to practice her dynamics with Blake while getting a taste of what fighting with Pyrrha feels like, giving her some preparation in case she faces her in the future that it would make for a farer match. It's a win-win regardless of who will come out victorious in that spar.

Of course, being what she's famous for—Pyrrha still had the upper-hand even if she's facing two opponents that was close to her level, and they were already a duo that was known to be a deadly force together despite their respective fighting styles contrasting each other.

Pyrrha was parrying blades with Blake while pushing Yang from her behind. She changed her xiphos to its spear form, turning to Yang to sweep her leg with her spear. Yan hopped above it and threw a kick which Pyrrha blocked. She shifted back towards Blake and swung her spear, shoving her katana away before bashing her with her shield and then striking her until she was down.

She began twirling and thrusting her spear at Yang who tried to use her gauntlets to block them before they eventually overwhelmed her, hitting her with chained strikes before Pyrrha hurled her into the air. As Yang was thrown off mid-air, Pyrrha threw her shield at Yang, hitting her face before pulling it back to her.

As Yang quickly recovers after landing on the floor, "Oh you wanna play it that way, huh, P-Money?" Her eyes then shifted to red while her blonde hair began glowing. "Then let's fucking do it!" She yelled as I finally hear her swear once again.

Not counting the infamous food fight, I haven't seen anyone beat Yang while her semblance is active prior to this, making her invincible to an extent. Even Pyrrha struggled against her in the aforementioned food fight, but she didn't have any of her weapons back then so seeing her take on Yang at her fullest was something worth watching.

I sat at one of the front seats and watched the battle unfold. Yang hurled herself toward Pyrrha prompting her to raise her shield. A single strike was strong enough to push Pyrrha back, albeit slightly. Pyrrha began dodging from Yang's following punches in an effort to wear her out while finding an opening for her to strike.

It was then that Yang decided to step back and fire shotgun shells at Pyrrha. Pyrrha ran across the arena, transforming her weapon to a rifle as Yang's shells miss her. Pyrrha began firing back as Yang attempted to avoid her bullets. One of Pyrrha's shots managed to hit her, thus making her semblance dangerous as a side-effect from giving her damage.

Pyrrha kept a distance and her shield raised as Yang charged at her again. She continued to aim and fire at Yang while avoiding her until she was practically blinded by rage. Yang's attacks became harder and quicker that a single hit would even deplete all of Pyrrha's remaining aura (which was still close to full by the time I got in) but this also made her easier to tire and she was running out of ammo after several failed shots at Pyrrha.

Yang carried on with the offense, hoping to make a successful strike at her. Unfortunately for her, Pyrrha was determined enough not to get hit at least once. She used everything she had to block and avoid any and all her attacks while countering them when getting the chance. Yang's aura was slowly draining from the damages and the use of her semblance.

"Gods-dammit! H-Hold still!" Yang cried out, her punches becoming slower as fatigue was wearing her out. Pyrrha kept dodging until Yang was slow enough to give her an adequate opening to finish her off. She repeatedly sliced Yang with her xiphos before turning it back to as spear and d give one last thrust that finally put her aura in the red.

Having lost all the aura needed to keep her semblance active, Yang's hair went back to normal after she collapsed to the floor. She took a few deep breathes before being able to speak again. "Good shit, P-Money." Her eyes turned back to purple, losing her strong power as well as losing her strong language. "F—Fu—Fudge."

Got to hand it to Pyrrha, she managed to defeat Yang even with her semblance, a feat that most people thought was impossible. That's my girl. If Yang couldn't beat her even with backup and her semblance, then I don't know who could. Penny might be an even match for her but we'll see.

Pyrrha walked on to Yang and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm good. It actually felt kinda nice losing like this for once even if it did tick me off," she said as she went back on her feet. "No one has ever able to knock me out like that. You really can't be beaten, can you?"

Pyrrha shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't lost a match for a long time. Maybe someone will defeat me someday."

"So you won like four tournaments in a row and still haven't lost a single fight for a long time? Hot Dang. Looks like I know who I'll be betting for."

Blake approached the two as she stretched her own back. "Yang, I know Pyrrha is an undefeated champion and she is sure to win this but please don't gamble."

"Oh, come on, I was only kidding!" Yang chuckled, "…or am I?" This made Blake glare at her, making her partner giggle. "Okay, okay, I won't." she conceded before going back to the subject on combat.

"Well, here's one way to learn that I'm not that invincible. The same kinda goes for you too, Pyr. No offense, but winning all the time doesn't mean you can't lose. There is a first time for everything after all."

Pyrrha nodded. "I know, but I don't plan on tasting defeat yet," she affirmed.

Yang cockily smirked. "You're on, P-Money."

"So I'm guessing you two are ready for tomorrow then?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I sure am!" Yang chirped before noticing me in the scenes seats. "And look who's here. Enjoyed the show, lady killer?"

"Pretty much," I laconically replied. Showing a friendly grin to hide the fact that I was fawning on three of the hottest girls in class, all drenched in sweat. "Got to say, you girls sure show one heck of a fight."

"Glad to hear," Pyrrha nodded, showing a hint of flattery on her face. "The last two rounds are going to be quite interesting won't they, won't they?"

"You got that right, and there's no way I'm losing!" Yang boasted. "By the time my match is over, everyone will be talking about me!" **[3]**

And not for the wrong reasons hopefully. You got to adore her enthusiasm though, she knows that Pyrrha was an undefeated champion and already witnessed her skill, even after it is proven that her infamous semblance wasn't enough to beat her, she was still confident enough to challenge her anyway. Whatever happens, Yang is definitely going to enjoy her Huntress career, punching Grimm and making names as she takes selfies with people who would be too busy staring at something particular to look at the camera.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby zoomed in the arena as Weiss followed behind her. "How did it go?"

"We still can't beat her. She's that good," Blake answered.

"Then this means that our best hope in winning the championship is if she's never matched against us, and that's only if Yang or Pyrrha loses a prior match before that," Weiss lamented.

Pyrrha's constant victories are pretty much why I'm not that much worried about the outcome of the tournament. Even if she loses, I could always console her and tell her that losing is just part of life, and sometimes you just have to give someone else a room to win. I never really cared that much about the tournament anyway and I only bothered to enforce my own fame while it lasts, and since there aren't any more rounds that concern me, I could safely say that I might as well sleep through it at this point which I could but I have to be there for Pyrrha as long as she's still representing my team.

"Undefeated or not. I'll be ready. I learned some of her tricks this session, they can't save her forever!" Yang challenged as she pumped her fists.

"Noted," Pyrrha tranquilly acknowledged.

"But hey, second place doesn't sound bad either. I'll be happy to see either of you winning!" Ruby piped buoyantly.

I smiled at Ruby's contagious optimism before looking at my partner and ask her about the thing which was the reason why I was there. "So Pyrrha. You ready to go now?"

"Oh right. I'll be there in a second!" She replied as she headed out of the stage.

"Where are you two going?" Yang asked.

"Oh, you know, just spend some time in town and all," I answered.

She made a teasing grin. "Sounds to me that you're going on a date together."

Ruby beamed while Weiss' expression remained unchanged and Blake could only give me a slight smile. "You're finally dating?!"

Here we go, I mumbled to myself, blushing along with Pyrrha who was now right beside me. While it was the best way to describe it, I was still hesitant to call it that. "Maybe. But it's nothing like what you might be thinking," I told her, not that it helped me much.

"Yeah, sure," Yang said, unconvinced. I figured as much that it wasn't worth trying to tell her otherwise since she would just continue teasing me to her last breath.

"It's just so cute seeing you two together like this. D'aaaw!" Ruby bubbled while her partner just stares at her with an unsure look.

Keep being cute, Ruby, I thought. At this rate, she'd be too adorable for the Grimm to even touch her. It's pretty endearing if you ask me.

Blake smiled at us both. "Well, date or not, I do hope it will turn out great for the both of you," she said as her partner patted her on the back for giving us her best wishes.

"Appreciate it," I thanked before turning toward the exit, which I noticed was being opened.

A familiar velveteen rabbit entered the combat hall, holding an old-school style camera that bore her colors. "Excuse me. Sorry if I disturbed you. But do you mind if I take a few pictures?"

"Sure, why not?" Ruby answered.

"Thank you," Velvet grinned as she walked closer toward us. "Would you mind showing Miló and Akoúo̱?" **[4]** she requested at Pyrrha.

"Oh," Pyrrha pulled out her weapons and showed it to Velvet. "Yes, of course."

Pyrrha posed as Velvet took a snap of her camera. A click was heard from the camera before Velvet put it down, taking a second to review her shot. "Alright. Thanks, Pyrrha,"

"You're welcome," Pyrrha nodded.

Velvet then walked closer to the stage in which Blake and Yang were still standing on. "Oh, so it is our turn?" Yang said as she and her partner turned to her.

"Say cheese, you two!" Velvet pointed her camera at the duo. Yang posed with a wide grin, showing off her gauntlets while Blake just shyly smiled and held her katana and its sheathe down.

Ruby approached Velvet as the latter finished taking a photo of the two. "So what are you up to, Velvet?"

"Oh you know, just working on my photography," Velvet replied. "Wanna see what I took?"

We took a look at the gallery on her camera. Her photos looked… amateurish to put it nicely. Her photo for Pyrrha zoomed in too close to her weapons, barely showing her face, the same likewise goes for her other pictures including the one that featured me posing after the doubles round; the camera was too focused on my sword and pistol.

As much as I want to comment on the photo's questionable quality, I didn't want to be rude to her. Velvet could use some commendations even if it looked like she wasn't trying. "Uh, they're okay…" I said, forcing a compliment before trying to make some constructive feedback. Emphasis on 'trying.' "You… just need to work on your angles. I guess."

"Yeah, I know they're not really the best…" she frowned as she put the camera away. "Photography isn't something I necessarily enjoy. I'm just doing it for something I need."

"You could take another picture. I won't mind," Pyrrha told her.

"It's okay. I got what I came for. The pictures I need don't have to be good or perfect, or anything," she insisted as her smile returned to her face.

"If you say so."

"Thank you all for your time. I really have to go now! Take care!" Velvet said, taking the stairs back to the exit.

Ruby waved at her as she left for the door. "You too!"

After there was nothing left to do in the combat hall, Pyrrha and I left the building. I looked at her and see that she was still sweaty, taking short huffs from her recent fight with Yang. "Ready to head out?" I asked.

"Give me a few more minutes. I need to wash the sweat off," she replied.

I gave an understanding nod as she headed to the residence hall. I took time appreciating her backside until she was out of my sight. I shook my head off from all the dirty thoughts on her taking a shower and went to sit at one of the benches in the courtyard. I was about to spend a day with her and perving wasn't going to help me. Still, I have thank whatever Gods out there for letting fate have me be paired to a formidable beauty like Pyrrha. I guess there are a few silver linings on some of my misfortunes.

A rough ten minutes passed and Pyrrha came back wearing a red shirt underneath a brown jacket and black skinny jeans. Her hair was also down, a rare sight to see, likely so that the paparazzi won't instantly recognize her in public. "I'm back!"

Although her appearance was more modest, showing less skin, she was no less beautiful as she was. I stared at her wide-eyed, dumbfounded at how gorgeous she looked even when she's only wearing simple casual clothes. It almost gave me déjà vu to when I first laid eyes on her.

"Is there something the matter?" she quizzed, seeing that I was spacing out on her.

"N-N-No! Not at all," I stuttered before regaining my composure. "Let's just go, shall we?"

We walked down the courtyard together as we headed to the Bullhead docks. On our way, we encountered Coco who saw us walking together in civilian clothing. She was wearing her usual clothes which she also wears during combat. I presumed that she was wearing different sunglasses since the previous one was destroyed during her last fight.

"Hey there," she greeted, making us stop to spare some time with her. "Finally going on a date, are you?"

"Something like that. I mean…"

She grinned as she shook her head. "Come on, just admit it. You two are going somewhere to get to know each other. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a date to me."

I shrugged knowing it couldn't be helped. If that's what they want to use that term then I'm not stopping them. I just wanted to be honest with Pyrrha regardless of what might happen next and we still haven't fully decided if this was going to be romantic or not.

"By the way, that look is rocking you, Pyr. Simple and clean; I like it."

"Why thank you, Coco," Pyrrha said. "Sorry that you didn't make it last round."

"It's fine. They got us there, not gonna lie," Coco admitted, crossing her arms as her tone becomes somewhat bitter. "I'm honestly impressed. I didn't expect my ass to get kicked like that. But at the same time, I can't help but feel something weird about those CMEN guys. Especially that green-haired chick. Maybe it's because I'm still mad at her for breaking my rims, but I don't think they're about as sweet as their team's name."

So it looks like I'm not the only one smelling something fishy about them. It could be because they always have that suspicious aura around them, but I couldn't tell if it's that the case or if it's just me. "Yeah, they probably might be as salty as their other name," I quipped, slightly flashing a childish grin over that remark.

Coco chortled at my dirty joke. "Do you say stuff like that near your girlfriend, Jaune?" she told me as I looked at Pyrrha who was giving me an unsure look over that jest. And before you get the wrong idea, I only know that because my sisters make jokes like this all the time and this is one of the cleaner ones.

We were about to bid her farewell and leave when we suddenly heard an enticing voice coming toward us. "Hello, everyone."

We turned to see Cinder Fall walking toward us, wearing her combat clothes that consisted of a light brown sleeveless jacket reaching down to her midriff which was unbuttoned to show the sarashi wrapped at her top as well as her forearms; black fingerless gloves; and grey pants with matching boots. She was followed by her black-haired, green-eyed, gothic lolita of a teammate, Nico Dougal, who I rarely see since I first bumped into her. Heck, I don't think I even heard her talk once.

As I met her again, so did that nagging feeling in my subconscious whether she was around, and I still had a faint hint of what was causing that.

"Hello there, Cinder," Pyrrha greeted.

"Oh, it's you." Coco lost her smile, feeling ambivalent by their presence. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think that outfit really suits you."

For some reason, I agree with her. Maybe it's because I wasn't used to seeing her wear something like that with her mysterious beauty, but something felt wrong. I don't know exactly what it is but I feel it.

"Well, that's your opinion. But don't worry these aren't my only set of clothes," she replied with that alluring voice of hers that complimented her gorgeous looks. Well, if that's the case then she should have picked something better to wear but I digress. "Anyway, I'm glad you remember me, Pyrrha. What are you up to today?"

I stopped gawking at both of their exposed midriffs and answered the question. "Not much, just hanging out with my partner."

"Is that so?" She lifted an eyebrow at us before she began leering at Coco. "And you must be the leader of the team that Mercury and Emerald defeated last round."

She crossed her arms in a rather resentful manner while trying not to appear as outright hostile. "That's right. Props to your team, I guess."

"I'm so sorry about Emerald. She can be very rough sometimes. But at the end of the day, it's all just fun and games right?" Cinder said as she tilted near her.

I could notice Coco's eyes narrow behind those shades. "Right…"

Her companion, meanwhile, continues to make an ominous gaze at me with her emerald green eyes. I wasn't sure what to say or what to think. "Uh, hello… Nico."

She just smiled at me, not saying a single word. Kind of reminds me of another short girl I used to know. Thinking of her is probably why I had that annoying sensation when I'm around her or even her team.

"Okay then…"

"Oh, don't mind her. She's not much of a talker herself," Cinder stated as faced toward me. "I can see that she fancy you," she noted as Nico grins at me and I could only force a smile as I look down at her petite face.

Coco glared at Cinder for a few more seconds before she stood up from the bench. "You know what, I think I'm needed elsewhere. So if you'll excuse me, I'll see myself off," She excused herself as she began to walk away.

"If you say so," Cinder uttered as Coco left.

Which reminded me that Pyrrha and I should be leaving as well. As much as I would like to know more about Cinder and her partner, my curiosities had to wait. Not to mention, this conversation was becoming a little too uncomfortable. "Speaking of which, we should be going too. It was nice talking to you again, Cinder."

"Alright then. Have a nice date" she said before turning at Pyrrha. "Be sure to put a show for us tomorrow."

We walked away from them as we made our way to the Bullhead docks. I glanced back to see that the two were watching us leave before I noticed that Pyrrha bore a somewhat worried expression on the way.

"Something wrong?" I asked her as we made a brief halt.

"I don't know…" she muttered, contemplating on the ground on what that might be. "Let's just go."

With that, we carried on as we went back to focusing on our date. We can't let whatever's been bothering us disturb what was supposed to be our time together as partners.

As we were are about to reach the Bullhead station, we saw that Ren and Nora were already there, apparently waiting for us.

"Hello, Ren and Nora, is there something you need?" Pyrrha asked Nora zoomed in front of us as Ren caught up with her.

"Oh, y'know, just enjoying the weather," she grinned.

Being a stranger to subtlety, it was clear that she was not even trying to hide it. While it was autumn, the weather was almost the same as it always was. It was clear that she wanted to see us before we leave. "Yeah, sure you are," I snarked.

"Well, Jaune and I are heading to town. So I only ask you to take care and try not to wreck academy while we're gone, okay?" Pyrrha told her.

"Don't worry, I got her under control… hopefully," Ren forced a smile.

"Okie, dokie! Just make sure you two have a great time!" Nora chirped.

Pyrrha and I looked at each other and shrugged before proceeding to one of the Bullheads. The Bullhead took off to Vale a few minutes after we boarded. I could hear Nora celebrating with some fans as we leave. Some confetti can be heard springing until we were at a distance where their cheering faded.

Leave Beacon with Pyrrha, check. What was supposed to be a simple task honestly felt like the hardest step to complete and I'm just getting started.

 **=o=**

1\. _Despite her introverted nature, Blake did receive fans of her own, as much as I find that to be a ridiculous fact. This was largely due to being part of Team RWBY especially after winning our victory during the first round._

2\. _While I find that to be obscene for more reasons than one, I frankly couldn't care less as long as he's not imagining it with me. I'm still wondering where the absurd assumptions about my sexuality even come from._

3\. _Oh Yang, you always talk too much._

4\. _Velvet has everyone's weapon's names memorized, mostly thanks to her semblance, which was photographic memory, explaining her knowledge and decent grades. Keep in mind that it only works when her aura is active, otherwise, she acts as if she forgot some details._

* * *

"So where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as soon as we stepped out of the Bullhead station.

I rubbed my chin and went to thinking. Vale's capital is a big city so there were plenty of places to start with. "Just somewhere simple," I replied before the retro diner where my sisters ate came to mind. "There's a diner in Downtown if you want to eat."

"Sure, I haven't eaten yet so that's a perfect place to start," she accepted.

We proceeded on foot, traversing to Downtown in the direction towards Joe's Diner while engaging in some small-talkt. It was a good call for Pyrrha to sport a different look because only a few of her fans were able to recognize her and it's usually because they were able to notice me since I was wearing my usual clothes just with a different hoodie and without any armor.

Thankfully they weren't much of a hindrance, all they asked for are some photos and some autographs, the usual thing we've been doing for a while now. They were nice enough to respect our business too, hence why they didn't bother us any further. Far better than dealing with the gods-damn paparazzi, I'd say.

When we arrived at Joe's Diner, I ordered a cheeseburger with some fries. The lack of tanna was disappointing but it didn't bother that much as I never expected it to be on the menu, considering how niche the drink was in this kingdom. Besides, I just drank one last breakfast. Pyrrha, meanwhile, settled for a salad meal. Looks like someone's having a healthy diet today, I thought.

To top it off, we took chocolate sundaes as dessert. It was then I found out that not even the mighty four-time champion was immune to brain freeze. There were just some things that aura can't protect you from.

There wasn't anything else noteworthy to tell; we weren't able to talk as we were too preoccupied with our own food during the duration. At best, we gave each other some awkward glances and a few gazes. There was plenty of time to chat anyway so it was fine.

After we left the diner, we wandered around the town and looked for a place to go to, when all of a sudden, we witnessed a group of faunus getting arrested in the street. By the looks of it, it was no ordinary arrest as the Atlesian authorities were more involved than the local police who were only watching in the sidelines.

"Oh, my," Pyrrha said as she watched the Atlesian guards escort the felons to the transport van.

We decided to walk closer for a better look. "What happened here?" I asked the copper who was standing behind his patrol car's door.

"Some faunus blokes just caused a public disturbance by assaulting some Atlesian Paladins while hollerin' that their people should rise up against Atlas or something," he answered as he glanced at the two broken robots lying in the ground.

"White Fang?" I inquired, being the thing that popped up to my mind when I think of Atlas-hating faunus radicals; it was too feasible for it not to be the case.

"Probably. Could be just a bunch of sympathizers trying to spread the word," the officer shrugged. "In any case, these folks are in big trouble. We found some of them carrying some frenzon."

Frenzon? Aren't those one of the drugs Junior's gang has been hiding? I asked myself.

"So it could be possible that they could just be high and upset but nothing is stopping us for guessing that it's both."

"I frankly don't mind people demonstrating their right to protest, but during in the middle of the festival…" Pyrrha gave her opinion.

The officer nodded in agreement. "I know that not every folk is happy with Atlas, but this isn't helping, especially when this bloody festival is 'pose to be a time when the kingdoms getting along and such," he said as he looked back to the scene and saw that news vans have arrived, which is a good indicator for us to leave before they notice us. "And if I were you two lovebirds, I'd get out of here already and carry on me day. Wouldn't want to think of some mess like this on a romantic date, would ya'?"

As much as I'd like to correct him at that last part, he was right that we should go now. No time in trying to debate about it. "We'll do just that. Thank you, officer."

He nodded as we left. We quickly walked away from the scene before the press (or as I'd like to call, The Pest) **[1]** would find us and ruin our day. After passing a few blocks. We noticed that we were not far off from Vale's park and thought it would be a nice place to visit. Sightseeing was always obligatory for dates. If you don't have any money to buy food, tickets or flowers, you could always go for a walk especially to a place where you don't have to pay in order to visit.

We entered the park. The place looked astounding during the season, even if there were some leaves were littered everywhere on the ground that cleaners have to rake them away. The vibrant green and red trees were pretty to look at and set the mood for us. The park wasn't that crowded, helping with the peaceful and quiet atmosphere. There were a few people there going on a stroll there, along with some tourists who happen to come by during the festival; thankfully, none of them bothered us, letting us enjoy our stroll without any rude interruption. It was a bit refreshing not to get mobbed by fans in public for a few hours.

Pyrrha smiled at the sight around her as we traversed through the park. A good sign since I was supposed to make her feel good and show her how much her well-being means to me even though I wasn't exactly honest to her for the whole year we had as partners.

"You know, I always enjoy outdoors during fall. It's my favorite season," she said.

"I can see why," I remarked as I appreciate my surroundings as well. "Fall's pretty fun. I remember playing with leaves when I was little."

She giggled, "That must have been fun. I used to chase some flying leaves myself, usually at the park at Argus. I would go home and decorate my wall with the leaves I collected."

"Really?" I looked at her with a bright expression, admiring the reminiscing of her childhood.

"Those were simpler times," she continued. "I didn't have to worry about staying on the top then. I was just a normal girl with a normal life with normal hobbies, and I miss those moments. I think of them every time I look outside during autumn. It always puts a smile on my face."

"Well, what's stopping us from reliving those moments? We're here so we could forget our troubles and enjoy ourselves aren't we?" I said before I saw a maple leaf flying in the wind. "Look there's one now!"

Pyrrha grinned and began running toward it. "Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go get it! Whoever doesn't catch it gets to pay for our next snack!" she said cheerfully. Since she usually acts like a serious valedictorian, it was rare seeing her in a playful mood and I was happy to see her finally enjoying herself, not thinking about her worries and cherishing the moment.

"Challenge accepted, Miss Nikos!" I smirked as I chased the leaf as well.

We raced toward the leaf as it continues to fly through the park. Pyrrha remained ahead of me even though holding back since she ran slower than her usual pace, and I didn't run as fast as I normally would likely because I didn't think of an Ursa chasing after me, but then again, that would have been cheating. I should jog my lazy ass more.

The maple leaf left the pathway and flew above the grass. We stepped to the grass before Pyrrha caught it with her two hands and put it in one of her jacket's pockets.

Well, I guess I'll be the one paying for our snacks then, I thought, not that I mind at all.

I saw a pile of leaves near a tree. I promptly jumped into it, coming out from the top of the pile shortly after when I saw about to jump to it while I was still in there.

"Wait!" I tried yelling at her, but it was no use as Pyrrha was already diving into the pile before she could hear me. She crashed in front of me, which would have hurt a lot more if our auras didn't thankfully make sure we only experience minimum pain. When we both recovered, we stared at each other awkwardly at what just happened. Pyrrha looked pretty embarrassed for her abrupt action and doing it without thinking while I just look at her eyes, not knowing what else to think.

We eventually laughed it off and rolled to my side. We both just lied down in the leaf pile, peacefully watching the cloudy sky above us.

"I'm glad I came here with you," she said with a satisfied look on her face, and I was just as happy with how this day was turning out. But I still had to remind myself of one of the main reasons I took her out and it gave me time to think while relaxing on the pile with her.

After half an hour of lying there, we resumed walking through the park, exchanging stories about our childhood during the season, telling each other how fun autumn can be even if it isn't as popular as summer or winter, or even spring.

We then found ourselves near a lake. We spotted a small flock of pigeons walking on the ground nearby while being fed with some bread crumbs from a few passersby.

"Aww, I think they're hungry," Pyrrha said. "It's unfortunate that we don't have anything to feed them with."

I sweated nervously as I noticed some of the pigeons started staring at me with malicious intent. "They look fine to me," I told Pyrrha, shivering while giving a half-suppressed laugh as I tried slinking away with her. "Come on let's just go."

Before I knew it, the pigeons abruptly flew toward me en masse. They swarmed all over me as they tried scratching me with their talons. Pyrrha just stood there and watched, frozen in shock with her hand covering her mouth. If it wasn't for my aura, I would have been covered in claw marks.

Pigeons are probably the worst type of bird ever, and I assume many of you that had unfortunate encounters with them understand why. I'm still wondering how do people even used these winged rats as couriers back then by shoving up their messages in their asses when the other thing they're known for is dropping literal shit from the sky. **[2]**

It took some struggling but I managed to shake them off. As they flew away from me, I panted while checking myself for any scars they left.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked me as she lifted my chin and looked for injuries. "What was that? I didn't see you do anything to anger them."

I did and it was existing as Jaune Arc. I'm still asking what I did to Mother Nature for animals to hate me that much to this day. Was it for the deer that I accidentally shot as a kid? Probably not, because I could still remember animals trying to kill me far before that. Hell, the reason why Verte made her cottage was to keep her pets away from me when I was still a baby, if I recall that correctly, suggesting that I've been having this trait since I was freaking born.

"I'm fine. I probably just caught them in a bad mood." I claimed, barely forcing a smile. Nevertheless she was reassured that I was mostly fine. "Let's just keep going."

Pyrrha and I carried on and passed through the bridge above the lake while I watch the same flock of pigeons that attacked me flying away into the sun. After seeing that, I was willing to forgive those winged bastards for giving me such a beautiful sight. It would've made a nice photo.

When we reached what I believed was the center of the park, we saw the statue of King Phadrig VII on horseback, raising his sword—The Crocea Mors, the sword that he gifted to my family and the sword that was currently stored on my locker that moment. This was one of the few things I know about history, mainly on how my family loves to remind me of it.

We stopped to comment on the statue. "Well, would you look at that, King Phadrig VII. And it looks like he has The Crocea Mors with him."

"Oh right. If I recalled correctly, your ancestor—Harry Arc used to serve him during the Great War and the king gave him his sword as a token of gratitude," Pyrrha mentioned.

Look like everyone knows of his story. "Yup, quite the relic it is. And as a kid, I always wanted to be like him."

"I'm sure he'll be proud of you," she comforted. "You Arcs are destined for greatness and so far you've been doing well at following it."

Doing well at maintaining the illusion of it to be more accurate,. He'd probably be disappointed to learn that reputation was unmerited and that I have on my family's name. **[3]** "And I have a lot to live up to. You know how it is."

She looked down and frowned. "Yeah. I don't know how long will I still be called the Invincible girl. I had a feeling this might be my first time to lose after several years of continuous victories."

"You'll be alright. No matter what happens you'll always be our champion," I consoled, cheesy as it may sound.

She looked back up and her face brightened up. "Maybe I'm overthinking this. Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate your kindness."

"Just being a good friend," I instinctively said in my my nice guy routine before looking back at the statue. "You know I wouldn't be surprised if they make a statue of us."

"I hope not," she said. "I want to be remembered as something more than an idol. But I guess that won't be happening any time soon."

I stared at her, confused on that last part. "What do you mean?"

"I-It's nothing. I'm just having some negative thoughts about this," she replied.

I kept my brow raised over whatever that was before going back to the statue. "I get the feeling too but at least you deserve one."

"I appreciate your support, Jaune, and I do love my fans, but I don't want to stay on a pedestal for long. Everyone is expecting a lot from me; I don't know how much I can take it anymore."

I look at her and realize that she was having the same dilemma as mine, the only difference is that she earned her reputation, but everyone is treating her to be too much of an icon. Even I am guilty of it since I tend to use her to keep me safe knowing that she'll succeed largely because she's known to win every time. "I understand..."

"I'm sorry. A lot has been going on my mind right now," she muttered. "Can we go?"

We walked away from the statue. I looked at Pyrrha who seemed upset conversation, probably thinking about her hardships again.

Thinking of a way to cheer her up so I could see her in a jovial mood again. The coin eventually dropped as I realized that I should take her to the fairgrounds back in Beacon. What better way to forget our troubles than to go enjoy the festival like what everyone is doing? I thought.

After a couple more hours of sightseeing, we reached the other side of the park. We noticed that dusk was arriving and that we'll have to find a way to spend the evening. Luckily, I already had something in mind.

"So, you want to head back to Beacon and go to the carnival?" I asked as we aimlessly wandered around Vale's sidewalks.

"I'd love that," she nodded, almost smiling again. "Why not?"

I gave her a modest grin before hailing a cab to take us back to the Bullhead station. The park was a great place to relive memories, but I'm going to need more than that to give Pyrrha what she deserves. I was about to give her a night she wouldn't forget.

And hopefully, it would be for the better.

 **=o=**

1. _The media isn't exactly well-regarded so he's not the only one to call them that._

2\. _First off, only a breed of homing pigeons are capable of delivering messages; they do so by being sent in a cage and flying back to where they came from with a message. And anyone who's familiar with carrier pigeons is that their messages are strapped in a cylinder attached to their legs. I have never heard of a pigeon carrying a message in their rectums and the thought of it alone disgusts me._

3\. _As someone who has access to classified documents regarding Harry 'The Flash' Arc, I could at least say that Jaune was actually braver than his ancestor especially later in his career._

* * *

The sun had already set by the time we returned to Beacon. Colored lights were illuminating around the fairgrounds as students and visitors alike enjoy the night. Seeing as the place was more vivid than it was the previous days, the festival was indeed at full-swing. The singles round beginning tomorrow might have something to do with it. To say nothing of the fact that there would be a fireworks show within a few hours. Wouldn't want to miss that.

Pyrrha and I walked through the fairgrounds, smiling at the vibrant sight before us. Our fans and fellow students greeted us as we pass through them with some wishing Pyrrha well on her next fight and others complimenting her appearance. Naturally, we returned the gesture and wished them an exciting night.

"So what do you want to do first?" I asked Pyrrha as we stopped walking for a brief moment to discuss our next activity.

She shrugged, glancing around for a moment. "Can't decide on where to start. There are plenty of things to do here."

I began looking around before noticing a shooting gallery behind her. The game uses rifles so it would give some Pyrrha some practice as a plus. She could easily win one of the prizes in the display. Hell, she'd undoubtedly win all of those prizes if she played repeatedly. "How about some target practice?"

She turned back and saw the booth. "Don't mind if I do," she said to me with a grin.

We walked over to the counter of the shooting gallery and paid for a round of the game. Pyrrha stepped in and picked up the rifle. She took some time examining the rifle before the game starts until she realized that it functions similar to the one she uses so it took less than a few seconds for her to figure out how to use it.

As the round starts, five targets sprung up on the range. Pyrrha dispatched all five of them within less than a couple of seconds, shocking both me and the booth attendant of her quick and sudden draw and firing all of the targets without missing a shot, her facial expression shifting from warm and amiable to a professional one; tranquil and focused, never making a single blink.

She swiftly fired at one target to another as the next batches of targets appear, quickly pulling the bolt in between shots and clearing the batches in only a matter of a few seconds or less with perfect efficiency. Even when the next batches provided more challenge, with moving targets and targets that you have to avoid shooting appearing, she still manages to clear them without breaking a single drop of sweat.

After the final batch was done, confetti began springing at the range while the lights began to flash as the scoreboard says that she just won a new record. Pyrrha blinked and dropped her stoic look. "Did I win?"

The booth attendant stepped in, still awed by her exceptional marksmanship. "You! You just won a new record!"

"I did?"

"I have never seen anyone shoot like that. My, your score is going to be impossible to top. Congratulations, Miss! Now pick a prize to your liking!" The booth attendant gestured to the prize corner, mostly consisting of stuffed animals.

Pyrrha drew her gaze to the prizes hanging on the wall and started to choose between them. "I haven't got a stuffed toy in years, but if I were to pick one, I'll take…." A fluffy yellow-brown bunny then caught her interest. "That one."

She pointed at the bunny. The booth attendant took it from the display and gave it to her. It was simple yet satisfactory enough of a prize and it'll be easier to manage than say, Nora's large teddy bears which had to be sewn multiple times.

"A rabbit huh, good choice," I commented. Her choice felt appropriate as Pumpkin Pete's new mascot; must be one of the reasons why she picked it. Speaking of which, it does remind me of my Pumpkin Pete doll when I was a kid. Good times.

"I just like rabbits. I always wanted to have one as a pet," she said as she hugged her new rabbit toy. "And they kinda remind me of you."

"Really?" I asked curiously, yet amusedly.

She flushed. "I don't know maybe because rabbits are smart and full of surprises."

"And because they're cute?" I added cheekily.

"You said it yourself," she giggled, giving me a good chuckle. "So, do you want to try?" she then asked.

"Sure, why not?" I said, stepping in and paying for a round. The booth attendant gave me a rifle; it almost weighs the same as an actual battle-ready rifle but it was still lighter.

"You sure you know how to use these? I recall that you once told me that you went hunting before." Pyrrha asked.

"Yep, I held these when I was twelve. I'm just more of a handgun type of guy so I don't use rifles much though," I answered. Although I was trained to use any type of firearms, my muscle memory was too specialized in wielding handguns with my left arm despite it requiring more skill than using long guns with two arms.

"There aren't any dears nearby, are there?" I asked as I looked around for anything that has antlers on their head.

She puzzled glanced at her side before looking back at me. "Uh, no. Why did you ask?"

"Oh, nothing," I said as I began aiming the rifle toward the range. "Here goes nothing."

The targets popped up as I aimed toward them through my iron sights and then firing, repeating until the gallery was clear. Naturally, I wasn't as impressive as Pyrrha. I took my time to aim to make sure the shots would land at the target but I still had to act quickly since the game was also about how fast you could shoot so I ended up missing with one or two shots. There's also the fact that the targets can't harm me so they're not much of a threat that my survival instincts could suddenly enhance marksmanship for a brief moment. I can shoot rifles, true, I'm just not as good with them as with one-handed guns.

When I finished the round, my score was while adequate, was barely enough to reach the leaderboards. Which was fine, I never really expected much of myself to begin with.

"Not bad," Pyrrha remarked.

"Not my best work," I said, handing the gun back to the owner. "At least you got a prize."

She smiled. "Still, I think you did solid for someone who's not a dedicated marksman," she said as we left the booth while she carries her prize, moving on to look for the next attraction we might visit. We still had plenty of time to spare.

While exploring, I noticed two familiar figures sitting in front of a pancake stall while I was looking around. Those two figures turned out to be Ren and Nora. They noticed us as Nora gave me a thumbs up while Ren gestured to me that we shouldn't worry and that he's keeping a close eye on her while eating cotton candy.

Pyrrha was too focused on finding the next attraction to notice our two other teammates watching us. "Hey, Jaune. This one looks exciting. Let's check it out, shall we?" she said as she pointed at a swinging pirate ship ride and grabbed my arm and pulled me toward it.

"Uh, okay," I said, not being able to do anything but comply with her.

So far, this day was looking up to be one of the best days we have as partners; I had never seen Pyrrha be this happy before. There are only a few more days left until the school year ends after this tournament and I wanted to make pleasant memories for us to look back to. For now, we had to enjoy it while it lasts.

* * *

We spent the next couple of hours visiting an assortment of attractions—from simple carnival games to riding a roller-coaster. If I'm honest, I enjoyed the rides that aren't too extreme like bumper cars and others that don't involve much adrenaline as they are much less nauseating. I think I must have thrown up in at least four plastic bags. That's not even mentioning that the scale of the rides weren't as impressive as the ones from actual amusement parks so they could be more manageable by the academy, meaning I lost my lunch and almost wet myself to downscaled rides; the roller-coaster didn't even have a loop.

Overall though, it was a blast. It was funny seeing Pyrrha be scared at the haunted house that she almost used her semblance which would have made her harm someone or break something, thankfully I was there to help her get through it. She continues to dominate most carnival games though, and the ones she didn't were known to be rigged.

The fireworks display was about to begin. We thought that it would be nice to watch it while riding on a Ferris Wheel to wrap things up, so we stood on line for roughly ten minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

Like most other rides in the fairgrounds, the Ferris Wheel was modestly sized but it was tall enough to give you a nice view of Beacon, Vale and the sea between it.

While still in line, I bought some cotton candy for the two of us to eat while riding the Ferris Wheel. I checked my scroll's to see if we're on schedule and saw that we were just in time to see the show shortly begin once we're next in line.

I returned to the line where Pyrrha was waiting for me. I saw that we were almost next. "Here, this should keep things sweet." I handed her the pink cone of cotton candy as I kept the blue one. She smiled as I sniggered at my lame joke. "Get it? Cause cotton candies are… nevermind."

We finally went on board at one of the passenger cars. As we took a seat, the Ferris Wheel lifted us from the ground as we watch the fairgrounds come into view, along with the cityscape of Vale which lights are glimmering across the sea from Beacon under the starry night.

"You know, I had a lot of fun today. I enjoyed every minute spending time with you, Jaune. I never wanted it to end," she said after a few minutes of silence, admiring the sight around her. The restful quietness of the passenger car ascending upwards into the calm sky helped the serene atmosphere, compared to the noisy crowd at the fairgrounds accompanied by the cheery carnival music, even if those were still slightly audible from up there.

I gave her a warm smile. "Happy to help, Pyrrha."

"This is what I exactly needed—A time with just the two of us; having fun with nothing to worry about," she said. I glanced down to see that mmy hand was dangerously close toward hers, both were resting at the passenger car's seat.

"Yeah…" I looked back at the scenery as I'm reminded of what I wanted to tell her. I hesitated for a minute, contemplating at the night sky if I should divulge my dark secrets that I have been keeping from her since the beginning. I silently sighed, I knew that it was the time for me to snitch on myself.

"I'm glad that I have you in my life and as my partner. People only like me because of what I am, not because of who I am. If I wasn't the invincible champion they see me as, would they still love me?"

"I think about that all the time…" I muttered to myself as I look back at my life before this whole mess started. It's funny how it felt like the world was once against you and then began singing chants to your name the next day all because of an unfortunate series of events. If it wasn't for my undeserved reputation, I'd be a nobody.

"You know how it is. Which I why I'm grateful that you see me as something more than what everyone's been perceiving me for a long time ever since I made my first win. For all the achievements I have, having you as my partner has been my greatest one yet."

I felt my cheeks burn. It was one of the sweetest things she ever said if a bit corny coming from someone like her. "You're welcome, Pyrrha."

She gave me a gratified look before her eyes shifted downwards with a downtrodden expression. "It's just a shame that some good things would have to come to an end soon."

"Don't worry, it's not like this would be the last time we'll do this," I said in a consoling manner while the thought of this potentially being our last moment together as partners because of what she's about to hear haunted me. I was so deeply bothered by it that I could barely hold a smile at the moment.

"It's just that…" she took a deep breath and turned to me. "Jaune… do you believe in destiny?

Befuddled by that question, I didn't know what else to do but give her my answer. "Um... I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it."

Her frown slightly disappeared temporarily. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

I don't know where was this coming from nor was I aware of what's going on with her, though I do remember hearing this question from Ozpin when the semester began. "Okay. Uh, yeah. I can see that, sure," I remarked, not knowing what else to say.

She continued to ramble as I noticed her fists clench. "Well, what would you do if something came along that you... never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"

That was when I started to become more curious about what she's talking about. "Like what?"

She suddenly stressed out and spoke vehemently. "Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?"

I was taken aback by her yelling. I knew something was bothering her since the day started and I wanted nothing more than to help. "Pyrrha, are you okay?" I asked as I was about to place a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"I don't know anymore!" She yelled as tears burst out from her face.

I pulled my hand back in shock. She sobbed for a moment before taking a deep breath, realizing she must have ruined the mood and was close to lashing out on me. "I'm sorry for yelling. You've done nothing but be a good friend to me. You didn't deserve to be yelled out like that."

But I wasn't always a good friend. Hell, I didn't think I could ever say I ever was. I saw it as nothing more than an act to reach a certain end. And maybe I did deserve to be yelled out, which was why I have finally decided to open up of myself. If I could even genuinely call myself her friend, I would have to be honest to her and no half-truths this time. "No, if anything I should be sorry."

"Huh?" She gazed at me tearfully.

"There is… something you should know about me." I made a regretful sigh as I looked down. "You're going to hate me after hearing this." I was afraid that my nightmare from earlier was about to come true, but I was at a point where I didn't want to keep up this charade nor could I care about it anymore. She deserved to know the truth.

She gave me another confounded stare. "Why is that?"

"Because it's going to change how you see me forever," I stated, sorrowfully returning her gaze.

She took a few seconds to look at me in disbelief. "Why would you say something like that?! I could never bring myself to hate you," she chided in a verge of tears.

I made another sigh as I acknowledge myself that I was about to pass the point of no return. "Pyrrha I… I-I'm not what you guys think I am."

She stared at me speechlessly as she paid attention to what I was about to tell her.

"I'm not a hero." I shook my head before I went on to elaborate. "I'm not brave; I'm not selfless, I'm actually the opposite!" I stated, raising my voice in the most candid manner I've ever been. "I didn't want to be a Huntsman and I didn't want to be here! I never deserved to be called a hero, let alone get all the credit while almost everyone else gets glossed over. I wasn't trying to save anyone; I was actually trying to save myself the entire time. What happened in Podunk, the bank, and at Mountain Glenn were all because of stupid mistakes. Being a hero has been nothing but trouble for me!"

I was barely looking at her in the eye, yet this was the most honest I've ever been to her since we met. "I have been trying to avoid fighting the best I could. Hell, I've been trying to get you, Ren and Nora to do most of the work for me because you all would make better Huntsmen than I ever would. But I had to keep putting on a show to keep people believing that I'm a hero because if everyone finds out that I'm a pathetic coward who doesn't deserve the praise I've been getting, my life will become worse than it already is and I might take the family down with me! Now I'm stuck with people hailing me as something _I'm not_ that it got Ozpin into giving me attention and sending me in dangerous missions because he thinks I could magically solve his problems because of my reputation, all while I keep hoping that one day everyone would just forget about me and move on so all of this bullshit would just FUCKING STOP!" I almost yelled at the top of my lungs that my voice almost cracked, and it all so that I could show that I wasn't kidding around.

"I'm… I'm nothing! I'm nothing like my father, or my grandfather, or my grandfather before him!" I bellowed, almost sobbing. "I'm just a dumb loser and a selfish scoundrel who isn't worthy of carring on my family's legacy yet I still try to keep up this stupid game because I was afraid of what might happen if someone finds that I'm a fake. So I had to lie to everyone including my so-called friends and I keep asking myself why do I even bother?!"

I panted, catching my breath before continuing in a lower tone. "I just all want this to stop. I can't keep doing this anymore. I don't think I even care about what you might think of me now nor do I care about what's going happen to me. I just wanted to stop lying to you. This stupid charade has gone far too long now."

Pyrrha looked at me frozen as she ponders everything I just said to her. I was finally able to get all of that out of my chest with the possible cost of her trust and maybe my family's honor and getting months of work down the gutter. I expected her to be disappointed at me for realizing what I am just like what happened in my nightmare; at best, she might show some remorse, but I told myself not to push my luck because at that point it must've run out. All I needed to tell her the truth, whatever the cost; my whole life be damned.

But then she did the unthinkable.

"Pyrrha, I am really sorry." I looked down and avoided her gaze out of shame and guilt. "You thought you found the friend that you always needed when it turned out that I'm not much better than the ones that put you on the pedestal. You deserved far better. I don't know if you'll ever forgive m—"

Before I could notice it, she grabbed my head and planted her lips towards mine at the same time the fireworks began setting off. Her eyes were closed while mine was wide open as I just sat there, paralyzed in shock, but I could still remember it being so soothing that I almost forgot about my insecurities.

After a few seconds, she finally pulled herself away. "You're wrong! You are a true friend. Even if you were aware of my reputation, you still saw me for what I am and gave me something that no one else had ever given me. You have shown to me more than once that you truly care, not just for me, but to your team and others as well. That's not something a selfish scoundrel would do."

I wordlessly stared at her with my jaw dropped while trying to process what just happened as she continued explaining her conviction.

"Maybe you did lie about being a brave hero, and maybe you aren't as good as people thought you to be. But does that matter if you have been nothing but a good friend to me? I can see it in your eyes that you are better than how you see yourself. I have been lonely for most of my life with no real reason to move on other than to keep winning, and then you came in. I know for a certain for all the flaws you told me, you truly do care. You are a true hero and more than that in that regard. Nothing you say or deny is going to change that."

I was still frozen in shock but I was nonetheless relieved that I was able to realize that I wasn't dreaming this at all and that Pyrrha still thinks warmly of me despite my transgressions which I bluntly admitted at her. "Pyrrha… I don't know, I-I—"

"I love you, Jaune. I don't care what you think of yourself and how you can't see what everyone sees in you. There's no one else I'd rather be with right now," she expressed. By then, I had trouble making any more self-deprecating thoughts as I was too engrossed with her bright and beautiful smile that I always loved her for while fireworks burst in the sky behind her heavenly face that only a Goddess would have.

Even though I had trouble believing it for myself, I always suspected Pyrrha of having feelings for me. The way she looks at me and how she feels better when I'm around her made it evident. I would have happily returned those feelings sooner if I didn't think that it could ruin our friendship and if I didn't feel so unworthy. She was too much of an amazing person to be with someone as pathetic as me. I doubted that she'd like me for what I truly am. But maybe I was wrong.

"I love you too," I returned, finally being able to vent that nagging feeling I had for her for a long time which I initially thought was just a stupid phase that happens in every single school year but turned out to be more than that. "I guess I was just too scared. Some fearless leader I turn out to be."

"You are a fearless leader," she refuted as she gently held my hand. "You fought on and faced the odds when you knew the risks; you continued to walk the path of a Huntsman even though you said you didn't feel worthy. And you staunchly led our team for months into a force to be reckoned with. But most importantly, you were always there for your friends when they needed it. That is what made you brave. Don't you forget that."

It was that moment where I couldn't help but brighten up. My usual routine of musing with denial, guilt, and self-doubt after receiving such a compliment was absent and I welcomed the change. After all the dilemmas I'm forced to deal with, I was just happy that things turned out this way that I didn't want to ruin it.

"I just don't know what the others might think of this," I muttered.

"You can handle it. You're an Arc, and you're not as bad as you thought yourself to be. I'm sure they'll forgive you." She comforted as she placed her hand to my cheek. " And I'll be there for you… hopefully."

I noticed her frown and gave her a comforting look. "I know you will. You have never let me down, Pyrrha, and I doubt that you ever will." I said before I leaned forward and kissed her. I could feel her letting go of her troubles, along with mine as she returned the kiss.

After we finished, she turned to the sky and admired the fireworks before her. "We should let go of our negative thoughts for now. We're supposed to have a good time, aren't we?"

I looked back up and nodded. "Yeah, you're right." I wouldn't want to miss the show. "Let's enjoy this while it lasts."

We fixed our gaze at the dark blue night sky and watched the colorful explosions together, all while at the top of the world. Any anxious and doubtful thoughts faded away thanks to our mutual comfort. There was nothing to worry about, it was only me and her on this beautiful night.

Pyrrha leaned at my shoulder, "I don't want this to end."

I wrapped my arm around her. "Me too, Pyrrha. Me too."

I never thought I'd finally get a sincere and serious date, let alone see the day where I become the boyfriend of one of the mascots of my favorite cereal brand. Rouge is going to be happy when she hears about this; she's going to celebrate by wrecking the town with her drunken antics unless someone hides the drinks from her.

I do still have some doubts and I don't know if this relationship might even last. But as long as she's happy, so am I.

For such a complicated mess my life has been, I finally found myself being glad of being a part of someone's life.

* * *

 _Editorial Note: In the following day, General Ironwood invited Pyrrha for a secret meeting concerning a very likely match for the tournament's final round as well as revealing some secrets regarding Penny Polendina._

Atlas Military Archive: Audio Transcript between General Ironwood and Pyrrha Nikos hours before the final round of the 40th Biennial Vytal Tournament

General Ironwood's Office, Beacon Tower, 0647 Hours

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Good morning, Miss Nikos. Thank you for coming.

 **Nikos:** And to you as well, General.

 **Gen. Ironwood:** I've noticed you have been training this early in the morning.

 **Nikos:** I needed to stay sharp sir. I was also doing some research concerning the Maidens and the conflict that the Headmaster is in.

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Very good. Though you could have asked for information from us. Information from third-party sources regarding these topics are dubious at best. But let's talk about that for another time. Let me tell you why I sent you here. I know this is short notice but it is of utmost importance.

 **Nikos:** Does it concern the Maidens, sir?

 **Gen. Ironwood:** No, but it does contain top secret information that I'm trusting you with. If I tell you this, everything you hear will stay in this room.

 **Nikos:** You can trust me with anything, General. What seems to be the issue?

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Miss Nikos, if I may ask, how often do you use your semblance during combat. Do you think you can win without it?

 **Nikos:** I use it when I absolutely need to, General, but I don't necessarily need it in order to win. Most of my victories were usually the result of my continuous practice. My semblance only plays a part in them.

 **Gen. Ironwood:** ( _audible sigh of relief_ ) Good. That's good to hear.

 **Nikos:** Why did you ask, sir?

 **Gen. Ironwood:** It's because… ( _exhales_ ) The final round will have its matchups chosen randomly before they begin, and we need you to refrain from using your semblance when you get matched with Penny.

 **Nikos:** ( _pauses_ ) I'll do as you wish, but can you explain why, sir?

 **Gen. Ironwood:** The truth is… Penny is not a real girl. She's actually a machine to made to emulate a young human girl and was given aura through the same piece of Atlesian technology that we will use to transfer Amber's aura to you. She's not made of flesh, but of metal, **[1]** and what does your semblance do to metal?

 **Nikos:** It would tear her apart…

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Correct, and if that were to happen in front of a global audience, the results would be catastrophic. You're only one of the few who have been told about this. Not even Ozpin and her own team knows.

 **Nikos:** Can't you just make sure we are never matched?

 **Gen. Ironwood:** We can, but we figured as much that a match between both of you was inevitable, whether you get chosen together or when both of you become the last contestants remaining. We had no other better alternative than to simply warn you about this.

 **Nikos:** ( _silence_ )

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Please, Pyrrha. There have been enough problems for us as of recent. Yesterday's incident proved to us that the forces of Chaos are near, and we have to bear with some controversy to ensure everyone's safety. All we are asking for is your cooperation.

 **Nikos:** As you say, General. It is my duty to prevent further chaos after all.

 **Gen. Ironwood:** Very good. I knew Ozpin was right about choosing you as the next Maiden. You are free to go. If there are any questions, let me know. I'll be here if you need me.

 **Nikos:** Will do, sir.

 **=o=**

1\. _Penny's frame, to be exact is made out of metal while her body's outer layer was made out of silicone to give an impression of human skin._

* * *

I woke up the next morning after a peaceful slumber—a good sign since I didn't get any nightmares about one of my greatest apprehensions. While no one aside from Pyrrha was still aware of my secret yet, I feel a lot better since the confession. Hell, I even became more confident about next year thanks to her. After several months, I finally didn't feel conflicted about the future anymore. Things were finally looking up.

Getting up, I looked at Pyrrha's bed. Her bed was empty since she woke up earlier than I did. I noticed that the stuffed animal she won the day before was sitting peacefully at it and the leaf she caught was put on the wall near her bed. I smiled at the sight, recalling those pleasant moments yesterday.

Her desk, however, told a different story. An assortment of books was jumbled around it, which was strange since Pyrrha always made sure her things remain perfectly organized that she would take extra time to scrub every speck of dust off her workplace. This tells me that despite the wonderful date she had, there was still something that isn't right.

Examining the muddled pile of books, I saw that they were full of titles that Pyrrha won't normally be interested in; Fairy Tales Uncensored, The Truth About Magic, Maidens: Fact or Fiction? The Secret Wars of Remnant, The Call of Chaos and weirdly enough, The Autobiography of Ozpin: Headmaster of Beacon.

If Pyrrha hasn't been acting strange a lot lately, I would have concluded that Nora or maybe Ren misplaced their books on her desk, but seeing as she has been acting as if the world is about to end, something was going on that she's not telling us. I'm still wondering what was all her talk about destiny right before our confession.

Ren shortly appeared wearing a pink apron with the print that says, 'Please do nothing to the cook' beneath his usual clothes. He was also carrying a glass filled with a green liquid of sorts. "Good morning," he greeted in his usual tone as he saw that I was awake.

"Morning."

I took some time to stretch before moving to sit at the side of my bed when Ren spoke again. "Pyrrha woke up early today."

I looked unsurprised as I initially thought that it wasn't tied to recent behavior and she's usually the first to wake up after Nora. It was the final round after all; unbeaten champion or not, she's going to need all the practice she could get in the morning. "She always does, doesn't she?"

"Earlier than Nora," he then added.

I felt my eyes gape after hearing that. It was just I suspected. This could mean that she slept for a short period in her standards. While it's understandable because she could use some practice the morning before the singles round, it was too unusual for her. "How is she doing?" I asked.

"She told us about yesterday. Which I must say, congratulations," He said, so either he must have heard about it or Pyrrha told them. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

He continued, "But she seems to be busy with something. I don't know what it is and she refuses to tell me anything about it. It probably has something to do with the upcoming match but I'm not really sure."

With that remark, it all but confirmed my concerns. "Well, I figured as much," I remarked before asking about the 'drink' he was holding—if you can call that a drink, that is. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? This is a blend of herbs and vegetables filled with nutrients vital to your body's well-being. I recommend you to try it out," he said as he tried offering it to me.

That alone sounds impractically disgusting despite sounding good on paper. I almost barfed after smelling it, which was enough to tell me that wasn't edible no matter what Ren describes it as. One would be excused for mistaking it as puke. "I think I'm good."

"Are you sure? It's good for you."

About as good as chugging an entire bottle of pills into your stomach, I bet. "No, really, I'm fine," I insisted, stepping back from the drink.

Nora suddenly burst into the dorm, throwing confetti around her. "Congratulations, Fearless Leader! You and Pyrrha are finally a couple! Took you long enough, you son of a gun," she cheered with a wide grin on her face. "Team Awesome is going to be together forever! This is gonna be the best week of our life! Oh, I could gush about this all day."

I pretty much have gotten used to her fangirling over our relationship at this point and I was wondering more on how was she able to time this. I wasn't being watched, was I? "Were you waiting for me to wake up for this?" I asked. She assumed that question was rhetorical so she didn't answer—it wasn't though, I was really that curious and she left me in the dark on that subject.

"Ren, you're not trying to feed Jaune with that stuff, are you?" She glares at him, which Ren just responded with a shrug. Sound like even Nora wasn't eccentric enough to be a fan of whatever that drink was. It's credits to carrots that only Ren was capable enough to drink that green goop.

"So, where is Pyrrha right now?" I asked the two.

"Oh, she's at the library. Probably to read more of those weird books," Nora frowned as she folded her arms. "She could use some company, and who else would be a better choice than you?"

Right, I thought as I got up from my bed. It was time for me to do what a good boyfriend should do. "Way ahead of you."

"That's the spirit! Go cheer her up. Make our beloved champion happy! She's going to need some love and support for her next match!" Nora pumped.

"Alright," I uttered as I walked toward the bathroom door to take a shower. Before entering the bathroom, I turned around to give my indefatigable hammer-wielding teammate one important message. "Oh, and please try not to ruin the mood this time."

She obediently nodded. "If you say so! I wouldn't want to get your way. I wish nothing but the best for both of you!"

"Thanks, Nora." I smiled as I closed the bathroom door. Good to know she's still as compliant as ever and still capable of being respectful despite her manic nature, especially when it came to my relationship with Pyrrha.

After I was finished bathing myself, I took a quick breakfast before heading to the library. I was able to find her in the private section. She was on a desk, sleeping on a book about conspiracy theories (or something, I don't know) with a messy pile beside her which had mysterious folders below them. **[1]**

While I thought it was cute watching her sleep like this, I knew that I shouldn't get too distracted and that she still has a few problems unresolved, so I walked to her and shook her awake. "Hey."

She moaned as her eyes slowly opened. She looked up and smiled upon seeing me as if seeing my face again slightly cheered her up. "Hey."

I was content at seeing her smile despite whatever's troubling her. I wanted her to be happy just like the night before and not to worry about anything. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I've just been doing a lot of reading recently," she answered as she turned to the pile of books on the desk.

"Like what?" I inquired.

"Myths, Legends, Fairy Tales. Like the silver-eyed warriors for example—who are believed to be capable of obliterating Grimm with a single look," she said as she stacks the books in an orderly fashion. "I've been wondering if some of these tales are indeed true and not just legends."

Not the answer I was expecting but at least I was going somewhere. If that was the case, then at least I can relax, knowing that Pyrrha's problem wasn't that severe, **[2]** so long as she stops making us worry about dilemmas that came out of nowhere. "Can't really judge you for being into that kind of stuff, but what makes you say that they could be real?"

"People don't just write these things out of nowhere. I mean many of them are inspired by true stories."

"Pyrrha, I don't mean to disrespect—it's the last thing I want to do to you right now, but think you're reading into it too much."

"I'm sorry. It's really just—"

Just by reading her face alone, there seems to be something troubling her. I don't know if what she's reading has something to do about it nor do I want to believe that she's hiding something from me as we can't be distrusting each other after we just became honest with our feelings.

I held both of her shoulders in comfort. "Do you need help with something? I'm always here to lend you a hand."

"I really appreciate that but I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle. I was just given an assignment by Professor Ozpin and I needed to prepare for a bit," she explained as I let go of her. "I can't really talk about it. I'm sorry for making you worry."

I made an internal sigh, I simply just couldn't leave her all by herself when something is troubling her. No matter, what's important is that she stops worrying. If I can't help her directly then I'd have to put her in a good mood. "Well, whatever it is, if you need someone to talk to, I'm always listening. Just remember that you're not alone anymore." I tenderly reminded her.

"Thanks, Jaune," she said before leaning closer and gave a kiss on the cheek. My cheeks went red and I urged myself not to wipe out it for the time being.

We finally stood up. "C'mon let's head out. I'll buy you lunch," I said as we began leaving the library.

"You really don't have to do that," she remarked.

"Yeah, but I can and I will. You will be getting your lunch from me today and that's an order from your leader and boyfriend," I insisted even though I was already the one to pay for our snacks the last night.

She playfully giggled and conceded with my decision, "Alright then."

We left the building together, holdings each other's as we walk through the courtyard. I was a bit skeptical about the PDA **[3]** , but then again, everyone already treats us as a couple ever since the public learned that we were paired, so we might as well go for it and let everyone know that we are indeed official. It was enough for them to get the message so it's not like we needed to kiss in the arena or anything.

Though not many people were able to notice it since everyone appeared to be more concerned at the fact that more Atlesian ships were hovering in the skies above Beacon and Vale than usual. I didn't know what it was all about and I just assumed that it wasn't anything too serious that Atlesian military was just putting on a show of force or something, but I was about to find out why shortly.

 **=o=**

1\. _Those folders were provided by Ozpin which contained dossiers regarding The Maidens, The Forces of Chaos and some details about Ozpin's Shadow War. They were physically written to prevent data breaches and potential hackers from accessing them, which turned out to be a very good call._

2\. _Unfortunately for them, it was._

3\. _Public Display of Affection. As stated, their relationship wasn't considered anything of a surprise, and besides, PDAs weren't much frowned upon in Vale._

* * *

 _Editorial Note: Here is yet another excerpt. This one covers the incident that prompted General Ironwood to tighten the security in Vale. While the reason for it will be explained shortly after Jaune learns about it, his description was lacking in some relevant details concerning the current affair._

Archived News Article: White Fang Radical firebombs Atlas Embassy during a festive night. By Martin Wannamaker, VNN.

Despite the Vytal Festival being a time of joy and harmony, celebrating the peace between the four kingdoms of Remnant after the devastating Great War, there are still groups and individuals that unleash anger and violence against those who they fervently despise even during a jubilant time like this.

At 10 p.m. at Vale's commercial district, the festival was on its fourth night when the Atlesian Embassy suddenly burst into flames. The Embassy's fire alarm promptly went off as the fire department rushed to the embassy. A lone woman was caught by security cameras throwing bottles of fire dust to the embassy before running away from the scene. The VPD was immediately notified and were able to quickly apprehend the suspect minutes after the attack.

The perpetrator, who was a cow faunus by the name of Tawny Vaquero (age 27) was charged for arson before it was extended to terrorism after her affiliation with the White Fang was revealed when Vaquero confirmed her association with the Valish Division of the White Fang, along with the organization proudly claiming responsibility for the attack.

"Let this be a message to the northern fascists that the world will truly be never at peace until they pay for the oppression of faunus with their own blood. They think they can fancy themselves as peacemakers during a festival that partly celebrates the emancipation of the faunus people, yet continue to persecute us? Well then, let us remind them of what they truly are, and that we will not stand idly by," says a masked representative of the White Fang on a video following the attack.

Vaquero was a staunch advocate for faunus rights and opposes the Atlesian Government along with companies who are accused of mistreating their faunus employees, especially the Schnee Dust Company (SDC). She was present in several protests and rallies at various Atlesian and SDC establishments prior to this attack and has spoken out against them multiple times on social media, occasionally making threatening (and other times, strange) remarks.

Additionally, it was discovered that Vaquero was under the influence of illegal drugs, specifically frenzon. Frenzon is a term of psychological control drugs that were used to keep users fanatical with their cause and were once treated as 'combat drugs'. **[1]** It was internationally banned by the United Councils Committee (UCC) after the Great War along with several other drugs. The production of these drugs was strictly prohibited and the remaining supply is currently sparse and is nowadays known for its use by several outlaw cults which all follow specific dogmas that may or may not be related to one another.

It appears that cultists are no longer the only ones possessing such drugs. A sudden influx of rare and illegal narcotics made its way to Vale during the past week. The Silverlock Street Triads was one such organization that has been found harboring these sorts of narcotics. A major club they own was raided by the VPD two days before this incident happened. (Beacon Student Celebrity, Jaune Arc was also rumored to be involved in this raid. This was still yet to be officially confirmed by the VPD.)

This was not the first incident where Atlesians were attacked by radical faunus advocates during the festival that happened to carry the very same narcotics. Earlier the same day, four faunus youths were arrested by Atlesian Security Forces stationed at Vale with assistance from the VPD for assaulting AK-200s on patrol. Like Vaquero, they were also possessing and were under the influence of frenzon, it was also confirmed earlier that they indeed have connections with the White Fang. With this, it was evident the White Fang is indeed one of the organizations possessing these drugs.

The Valish Government with support from the United Councils Committee is seeking immediate action to prevent the spread of narcotics across the kingdom before the epidemic becomes more severe.

Aside from several AK-200s (Atlesian Knight-200) and a few cleaner bots that were destroyed during the attack, there were fortunately no casualties due to the employees and diplomats attending an invitational party at Vale's SDC building during the night.

"I actually was considering going back to the place when I realized that I left my wallet there. Glad that I got drunk instead," said an embassy employee who wishes to remain anonymous.

Atlesian and Valish authorities continue cooperating to prevent further incidents and to quash the recent epidemic. Several Atlesian Forces have been deployed in Vale with the approval of the UCC to tighten the security of the kingdom from any further attacks.

"The Festival will continue as planned. Citizens and attendees are encouraged to remain calm and carry on with the festivities while we continue to maintain. Spreading fear and chaos is exactly what these extremists want and we are not going to allow them to disrupt this time of peace and happiness. Under our security, we will ensure that these attacks won't happen again," said General Ironwood, head of the Atlesian Forces in a public speech regarding the incident.

In face of all these disturbances, many have continued to enjoy the festival, with numerous attendees anticipating the final round of the 40th Biennal Vytal Tournament that will feature Pyrrha Nikos, the four-time champion of the Mistrali Regional Tournament, who will compete in a singles match to become an international champion.

 **=o=**

1. _According to reports from the White Fang. Vaquero was actually a recent recruit to the organization chosen by Adam to firebomb the embassy as part of an initiation due to being expendable. She was also drugged with frenzon to keep her resentful toward the Atlas government and keep her from questioning the task that was given to her._

* * *

During lunch, I checked the news on my scroll to see what the hell was going on. I learned that some asshole from the White Fang firebombed the Atlesian Embassy and was on one of those drugs that the Triads were hiding the other day, explaining why Vale was suddenly getting more military aid from Atlas.

Dammit, those terrorists don't know when to quit. This better not become my problem. I wasn't in a mood for their crap at the moment.

When we got to the Coliseum, more Atlesian Knights were patrolling the coliseum compared to the previous days where there was only a handful of Atlesian Guards that were present. Ren and Nora were displeased with the number of 'mechanical abominations' roaming around, but as much as they want to do some damage (especially Nora), they knew they don't need to avoid unwanted attention.

The Atlesian Knights were inspecting people for possible threats at the concourse and loading docks. They were prioritizing on faunus to make sure they were not affiliated with the White Fang. No wonder why the faunus were especially upset now that they're being profiled because of some of their extreme cousins decided to ruin things for everyone.

Ren and Nora went ahead to the seatings while I accompanied Pyrrha to the backstage. After arriving there, we went our separate ways and I saw Blake and Yang talking near the wall of the corridor on my way to the seats. It sounds like Blake was at it again, but thankfully, her partner was there to knock some sense into her before she could put us on a repeat from the first week of this semester.

"I know how you feel, Blake. But now is not the time for you to worry about that. Let the military handle it for now," Yang advised.

Blake's bow was noticeably twitching. "I just feel like we need to do something about it. What's happening right now just isn't right."

"They almost got to you before, Blake, and I don't want that to happen. Let it go for a bit, and maybe we'll try to figure it out when the time's right," Yang soothed.

"I don't know," Blake muttered as her eyes fell to the floor.

Yang grabbed her shoulder. "Everything will be alright. We're partners, we look for each other. Right now, I need you to focus on supporting me for my next match, and I'll be sure to return the favor after we're done with this okay?"

Blake looked like she still wasn't sure, but she did brighten up and made an acknowledging nod before the two parted. Blake seemed to have remembered the lesson she learned; the White Fang's attack was obviously done to provoke people, so it was good for her to stay put—for now at least.

Mercury was passing through as he noticed me eavesdropping on the two. "Ey, you okay there, hero?"

"Hey there, Merc," I turned to him and greeted. "I'm fine. Just checking on my friends."

"Trying to make sure your girlfriends are alright, aren't you?" He snickered as I gave him a weird look over the joke that I really should have seen coming. "I'm kidding. But I take it you have a girlfriend by now?"

"I do actually. Don't need to tell you who it is, you probably already know her by now," I made a sideways glance in case of a nearby paparazzi. Gossip sites are going to have a field day milking this when they find out about it.

"Nice," He remarked with a slight grin on his face. "Good for you."

Trust me, everyone would be, even if it will only surprise a few. "I take it that you're going to represent your team for this round?" I presumed since I saw him heading to the backstage like Yang.

"Yep. I'm going to make history today," He boasted as he makes a couple of light kicks in the air. "I got my game on."

"Well, best of luck then," I said, he's going to need it because he'll be facing my toughest friends yet (and a few others who were able to get this far). Gotta give him props for his optimism though, as arrogant as he may sound.

"You'll be surprised." He smirked confidently as he resumed walking to where he was going. "Catch you later!"

I went to the seatings and sat between Ren, Nora and the girls of Team RWBY sans Yang as we waited for a few minutes for the round to officially start.

The Vytal logo finally appeared on the screens around the arena. The professors in the commentator's booth began their announcement as Doctor Oobleck spoke. This time, he spoke at a relatively slower pace. His speech was still rapid, but it was easier to catch up with him.

"As you may know, there was a recent attempt to disrupt the peace within the festival, and you may have been affected by its result. I advise you not to think about that now. We cannot let this incident divide us in a time of respite and friendly competition. Regardless of how you may feel about how this situation is being handled, please do not forget why we are all here celebrating this festival in the first place."

The doctor spoke to the audience in a calm and subdued manner. It seemed to have worked as there was nothing but silence in the arena following that statement.

"I couldn't have said that better myself," Professor Port concurred before killing the mood harder than how he claimed to have killed an Alpha with his mustache. "And I am known for my sheer charisma!" he bragged, you could hear a few groans from his students as the silence within the audience broke. "Anyway, enough of that, folks. Let's not linger on this subject and let us begin the moment you've all been waiting for! Raising, his voice as the crowd went back to cheering. "The one-on-one finals!"

Eight of the finalists were lined up in the middle of the arena. Among them were Mercury, Yang, Penny, Pyrrha, and Sun representing their respective teams. (I mean no disrespect but the other three of the finalists kind of look flat compared to everyone else or it's probably just me). **[1]**

Pyrrha stood at the left end of the line, looking nervous. I hoped she's doing alright and that her perturbations won't affect her performance. She looked at the audience and gazed towards me as I smile on her, which seemed to have comforted her for a bit.

"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"

Professor Oobleck returned to his usual pace. "Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!"

"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" the doctor declared, pointing towards the camera.

Everyone tensely stares at the screen as a roulette containing two slots of the finalists began spinning. After a brief moment of suspense, the roulette has finally chosen its contestants for the first match of this round.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Professor Port announced. It was an interesting matchup, we get to see whether punches or kicks will seize the day.

"Break a leg, sis!" Ruby cheerfully cried out.

Little did she knew how true those words would become. I couldn't blame her because nobody expected what would happen next.

 **=o=**

1\. _The three other contestants were, Castel Moore of Team CRTS (Charteuse) from Beacon, Phoenix Thornton of Team WHAT (White) from Atlas Academy, and Zafran Al-Bahri of Team QARZ (Quartz) from Shade._

* * *

I couldn't believe what I just witnessed with my very own eyes.

It all started as an engaging unarmed fight between a blonde brawler and a kickboxer with the tendency to backflip and breakdance during battle. At one point Mercury was able to knock Yang down and pinned her with a barrage of shots from his boots with only 16% of her aura left; another hit and she would have been out for good.

Of course, it triggered her semblance and she was able to beat him down until he was out of aura. He was barely able to fight back.

With that, Yang was declared the winner. She was walking away from him, when all of a sudden, she decided to turn back and fired on his leg when he was already down with no aura left. The crowd gasped in shock while the tournament's broadcast was promptly cut.

Everything just went to hell from there.

The paramedics quickly carried Mercury out of the stage while the Atlesian Guardsmen surrounded Yang and arrested her on spot. The same crowd that cheered at her during the match was now booing at her for her foul play. We, her friends and comrades, were no less shocked.

This caused the next match to be delayed for a couple of hours while the showrunners try to sort things out. When we flew back to Beacon, Yang was placed on house arrest and arrived at the academy in a prison transport while being escorted by Atlesian Guardsmen. Students looked at her in shame as she passed by, and she couldn't do anything but look down.

I sat in my dorm with my team as we uncomfortably listen to the muffled scolding of General Ironwood on Team RWBY's dorm, still processing what Yang just did. Pyrrha looked especially glum, silently sitting on her bed with another thing added to her list of worries.

I looked out the window and saw that there were Atlesian Knights everywhere. I was rather thankful that The Pest wasn't allowed to be in Beacon grounds at the moment, otherwise, there would have been more ruckus outside the residence hall.

First a firebombing and now this. Could this get any worse? What the hell is going on? Couldn't anyone just calm the hell down for once?

"I still can't believe this." Nora walked back and forth around the room before stopping toward Ren. "Did Yang really just did what I saw?"

"Unedited footages and millions of eye-witnesses don't lie, Nora," he responded as he was looking on his scroll. "Don't get me wrong, I'm about as dumbfounded much as you are. As aggressive she can be—she would never go this far."

"Don't you think she was blinded by her semblance or something?" I asked as it seems to be the only plausible theory I had from what caused her to unceremoniously break a downed person's leg.

"I saw her eyes turn back to normal shortly after Mercury was defeated. It couldn't have been her semblance."

"You're right. And she was low on aura after she used her semblance. She couldn't have activated it again since it was cooling down." I recalled, just remembering some notes I had on everyone. "If it's not that, then what is it then?"

"I'm not sure. It could have been a result of stress or high amounts of adrenaline," Ren shrugged.

Nora harrumphed. "All of you know me, and even I don't go that crazy when I'm that pumped up," she pointed out. "Something is definitely off."

As much as I find that hard to believe, I couldn't find myself disagreeing with her. Nora's a nightmare at her worst, but she acts frenzied only when I allowed her to; she's otherwise capable of holding out her temper. Since Yang's disposition was supposed to be relatively manageable than Nora's (let's be honest, everyone else is), then it couldn't possibly be narrowed down to just her striking a downed opponent in a fit of rage. There was much more to this and we intend to find out what it was.

When I noticed General Ironwood and his troops leaving the residence hall from the dorm's window. I headed out to check on them. Opening the door, I saw Yang's teammates standing outside their dorm.

"Is she doing okay?" I asked worriedly.

"She's doing the best she can," Blake downheartedly answered.

"We're disqualified," Weiss added. "Her ankles have been tagged so she can't get out of the dorm."

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to be his family," Ruby said, trying to sound as optimistic as she could. "So, until they land, no one can really question him about what happened."

Ren stepped in. "If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

She briefly looked down. "Alright then, if that's the case… Pyrrha?" She called, grabbing her attention from across the room as Ruby beamed at her. "Be sure to win one from Beacon, okay?"

"It's what Yang would want," Weiss chimed in.

She looked away for a moment before turning back on them with a bright expression. "I'll do my best."

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!" She chirped. I smiled as I looked at Ruby's cheerful face, noticing her radiant silver eyes. While I always knew her eyes were silver, it reminded me at one of the legends Pyrrha was talking about, but that's probably just me.

"Sorry but, I think I've had enough fighting for one year," Blake said.

"Ditto," Weiss nodded. I heard myself chiming in internally, amazed that I was able to even get this far, and there were still three more years waiting for me.

"Coffee?" Weiss asked.

"Tea," Blake replied before the three of them left.

I turned back to my dorm to see Nora profoundly pointing her finger toward Pyrrha. "You heard the lady! No more moping around! Are you just going to sit there and frown while there's a big fight ahead of you? No! The Pyrrha I know isn't going to let some puny tournament bring her down! She will fight, for the sake of her friends who she will never let down that easily, and for what she believes in!"

Nora continued her stirring speech as I delightfully watched. Pyrrha's eyes were wide in astonishment. "What's there to worry about? You're the fiercest, most talented warrior I've ever known, backed up by caring teammates who stood beside you ever since the moment we held the same chess pieces together and we will continue to stick by your side no matter what! We fought small Grimm, big Grimm, super Grimm, mad scientists who created said super Grimm, as well as baddies who tried to use the Grimm! Whatever you will face next is nothing compared to what you have fought and defeated!" She grabbed her arm from the bed, making her stand up. "Now are you going to let your worries get the best of you?"

"No…" Pyrrha muttered.

Nora firmly grabbed her shoulders. "I can't hear you!"

"No!"

"Now we're talking!" she pumped her fists in the air. "So stop brooding and make us proud! Scratch that, we're already proud of you, so make us prouder then! We know you can do it, Pyrrha!"

I saw Pyrrha's face brighten up. We all looked at her with warm looks of encouragement. With that, she was reassured that we'll always be there for her.

Who knew someone like Nora would actually make a good motivational speaker.

As Nora was pumping her fists up, her stomach growled. "Hold on, I know the drill." Ren stood up to fetch some snacks for her.

I looked at Pyrrha she gave me a bright smile, indicating that she was successfully cheered up. This was exactly what she needed before the match.

"I'm going to check on Yang," I informed them before looking at Ren and Nora. "You guys take care of her for now."

"Go on ahead. We're not going anywhere as long as there were machines roaming around the campus," Ren replied.

I knocked on the door and opened it after Yang told me to come in. The first thing that happened which I really should have expected was—Zwei angrily barking at me.

"Calm down, Zwei. Jaune's not gonna hurt a good boy," Yang said. With that, he faced away from me and began to chase his own tail until he went to sleep on his dog bed placed at the corner of the dorm.

I can't really attest if he's really a good boy though.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

To be honest, I wasn't even sure if it was a good idea to visit her. **[1]** I just thought I'd talk to her to see if she really was innocent as she seems. Aside from that, I might as well help out Yang so I could stay on her good side and so I could prove that I was a genuine friend even if I lied to her and everyone. "I thought I'd hear your side of the story of what just happened," I explained, sitting at the desk's chair next to the wall. "Whatever you just did, we're still friends, aren't we?"

"Aren't you afraid that I might suddenly out or something?"

As a matter of fact, I was. I kept my guard up during the entire time I was there, fearing that she might strike the least I expected it, especially with what she did that put her in that position. But I told myself to just treat Yang the way she always was, a flirty, silly blonde biker with a penchant for puns. Really bad puns. If she really was that guilty and dangerous, her teammates would have warned me about her.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you," I partially lied, speaking in my hero persona. Sometimes I just never learn, but I'll grow out of it eventually.

She paused for a moment before making a question. "Jaune, you really don't believe what you just saw, do you?"

"I don't know. I don't want to believe it but I can't just deny what I just saw either," I answered. "Why did you do it? He was out of aura. You already won. Couldn't you just have walked out and enjoyed your victory?"

"I didn't—!" she exclaimed before taking a deep breath and explained her side of the story. "Look, this may sound hard to believe. I actually was walking away. Then I heard him say something before I saw him coming after me. So I fired at him. The next thing I knew, I was being arrested. I didn't knew he was down all along until I saw the video," Her lilac eyes bored towards mine, "I swear, that really happened. Call me crazy but I saw what I saw and it felt real to me."

She doesn't sound like she's lying. While no one remembered Mercury threatening and attacking her after the fight, the tone of her voice was telling me she was being sincere and her gaze hasn't swayed away from mine. And she wasn't that much of a clever devil to deceive like that. Trust me, I've been doing this longer than I should.

"Maybe everyone's right. It was all just in my head. I'm really just a hotheaded bimbo, aren't I?" She leaned down and covered her face.

I regretfully stared at her as I find a way to give her some consolation. "I don't know. But I do know this—I heard you talking down Blake before the match," I stated as she looked back up. "I don't think you would have let yourself be blinded with rage after telling her that. And I know for certain that you aren't a liar."

"So, do you believe me?"

"I believe you didn't do that without a good reason," I asserted. "I won't lie, this is becoming more complicated than it looks, but somehow I know for certain that this isn't your fault. We just need to get the bottom of it if we're to prove you're innocent."

She smiled at me. "I'm glad to know that not everyone is buying this."

"Just remember that so long as we know you're not guilty, we will always have your back. That's what friends are for. Right?"

"Right," she happily nodded. "I really appreciate that. Though, I still haven't forgiven you for blasting ketchup on my hair the first day of the semester though."

She wants to play that game, huh? "And I still haven't forgotten that you broke my tea," I playfully retorted.

She chuckled. "Oh, I miss those days. Kinda hard to imagine that it's almost a year, doncha think?"

"Yeah. Oh, how time flies," I related. I could still remember it like it was yesterday; it's one of the reasons why I didn't fully regret going to Beacon. "I should go now," I said, standing up from the chair. "You think you'll be okay?"

"Don't sweat it. This isn't the first time I was on house arrest remember?"

Oh right, she got a harsher sentence for her criminal record when our investigation of the White Fang went wrong, at least she was free to roam around the academy then so long as she stayed there. It's a shame she's basically got another charge of assault now. "Yeah, I remember," I grinned as I walked to the door.

"And hey." She called, making me turn around before I leave. "Don't lose your joy, Lover Boy," she winked.

I chuckled before responding appropriately. "I enjoyed our talks, Goldilocks."

She beamed at me before I finally left the dorm, reassured that she'll be okay despite what she was going through.

As I closed the door, I saw Qrow, the dark-haired guy who just fought Weiss sister a few days ago, leaning on the wall next to the dorm. "You planning something with my niece, hero?"

He almost startled me. His raspy voice and appearance didn't help. "You don't have to worry about me, there's already someone," I told him.

"I can guess who it is," he said, shaking his head. "We're living in fucked up times, kid, if I were you, I wouldn't be too attached to my teammates."

Yeah, that was what I told myself before it went into the gutter like most of my plans to keep my reputation from becoming worse. What's his deal anyway? I'm starting to see why Weiss' sister couldn't stand him. His breath reeking with alcohol was made it worse. This wasn't something I expected from an uncle of two personable girls. "I guess it's too late for that."

He harrumphed, "That's not my problem. What were you doing there anyway?"

"I just wanted to hear what she has to say about it. It doesn't sound like she's lying."

"She didn't threaten you to say that, didn't she?" He questioned, making me narrow my eyes as he made a huff. "Nah, who am I kidding? Nothings ever threaten you Arcs, is there?" He stood up. "I know Yang since she was born. She really means well but she's sometimes way over her head. I remember her picking fights with bullies when she was a kid. If I'm honest with you, I'm not surprised at what she did, just disappointed that she did that when the whole world's watching her." He said. "Regardless if she's guilty or not, the damage has been done, this is going to be the first thing people will think about when they see her."

"Are you telling me not to help your own niece out?" I questioned.

"What I'm telling you is that you should focus on other things. I'm not that worried about her because I know that she's tough enough to take it. She'd face the whole world if she wants to. I'm more worried about her sister. As much as I'm proud of her, she's too naïve for her own good, and I don't want her to end up like her mom." He said. That, I can see. I haven't heard much about Ruby's mom but it's because she didn't want to talk about her when she's bought up, which was completely understandable. "Look, kid, something big is coming. Take my advice and keep watching your back. Soon, you'll learn that the Grimm are the least of your problems."

Been there, done that, I muttered to myself, hoping he's just drunk off his mind.

"And go talk to your partner, she really needs it," He said before going in Team RWBY's dorm.

Of course, why wouldn't I? Pyrrha needed all the support from her team and friends, especially what she was going through.

I opened my dorm's room and saw that Pyrrha was nowhere to be found. Ren and Nora were watching the windows through a binocular, being robophobic again. I'm still wondering why those two were still subscribed with the beliefs of the machine cult they were no longer a part of.

"What a repugnant sight." Ren hissed in disgust while observing the Atlesian Knights on the campus.

"Damn you, Atlas. The more I look at those tin cans the more I want to crush them. I can imagine myself doing it now." Nora growled before she noticed me enter. "Oh, Jaune. If you're looking for Pyrrha, she's at the rooftop. She said she needed some time alone."

Probably because she couldn't think clearly since you two keep fearmongering about robots, I thought. "Alright, I'll leave you to your business," I nodded at them as I shut the door and immediately went upstairs since there was no reason for me to stay there and keep listening to their anti-robotic sentiments.

As I made my way to the rooftop, I found her sitting near the edge of the roof all by herself, watching the sky and the view before her as usual. Memories of our moments in this place came back, from when we discovered it as our training spot on our first week, practicing together after classes to more recent memories like when we shared drinks and had a little heart-to-heart shortly after winning the doubles round.

I walked to her side. "You okay, Pyrrha?"

She turned back and gave me a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. I've just thought about some things."

"Really? What things?" I asked, sitting as well.

"Can't exactly say. There's just been a lot of my mind lately," she said with a hint of apprehension, but aside from that, she doesn't sound too upset.

"Still anxious about the next match, Pyrrha?" I asked.

"Not really. In fact, I actually don't care about winning anymore," she said as she looked at the campus and the surrounding sea.

That's… interesting to hear especially after Nora's motivational speech for her. "What makes you say that?"

"Because it doesn't matter if I win or lose anymore. The friends I made and the life I found here in Beacon is already the greatest victory I ever had. I knew I would find a better purpose in life, but I didn't know how much it would change my life," she explained as she faced me. "It was always my destiny to become a Huntress, and being a Huntress is about fighting for who you care about and what you believe in. I'll continue to fight, not for pride or victory but for my friends, especially you. Because it's you that makes it worth it."

I could see that she was almost in tears. I put a hand on the side of her head and gently wiped them off. "I really cannot thank you enough for everything you did for me,"

"You know me, I'm here for you until the end. You mean that much to me," I replied with a friendly smirk. "I should thank you too. You made me realize that were more to Beacon and being a part of a team than just using it to save myself, you know?"

"Well, that makes us even," she grinned, leaning at my shoulder as she held my other hand that was resting on the ground. Though I was still uncertain if that was ever truly the case since it has done more to me than I'll ever do to her. It was one of the reasons why I felt so unworthy for her, but I was willing to humor her opinion for her sake.

"I'm glad I have you. Can't imagine what would have happened if we never found each other," I said truthfully.

"Same," she replied before taking a moment to look back at the year we had together, "I still can't help but be amazed about everything that happened this year."

"There'll be plenty more where that came from," I nodded.

"I hope you're right," she remarked, sounding worried for a bit but she remained eased resting at my shoulder.

I was recalling my days here in Beacon, trying to grasp on where did I go so right when I remembered that I only told Pyrrha about my secret so far. "I really should tell the others about me soon. They deserve to know the truth as well."

"Don't worry, I'll be there for you, just like you'll be there for me later. We look out for each other."

I could only smile. I have endured these past months in the academy, hoping that I would get through this in one piece and find a way out after getting dragged into it against my will. I never thought I would find happiness with someone who I initially saw as a means to an end while cherishing all the friends I've made and having fond memories of the academy that once haunted me.

"Let's stay like this for a moment, shall we?" she said as she went back to gazing at the sky.

"I can't argue with that," I put an arm around her shoulder, embracing her as we enjoyed each other's company, reassured that everything would be alright.

Whatever we'll face, I know we'll get through it together. Maybe three more years on Beacon won't be so bad after all.

 **=o=**

1\. _It truly wasn't. There were surveillance cameras. General Ironwood planned on confronting him about it later that night, but due to the events that preceded._

* * *

It was already night when we returned to the coliseum. Despite the relevant event that caused the following match to be delayed, many people were still aching for some action. That being said, there were about as plenty of people who were skeptical about the tournament continuing, combine that with the strict Atlesian security that stemmed from another incident. To make matters worse, I heard that the threat of a Grimm invasion just increased because of those disturbances.

Unlike her teammates, Ruby decided to attend since she told us that Yang didn't want to force her to stay and worry about her and that she'll be fine by herself and since she wanted to see Penny fight. When walking through the coliseum, everyone was giving scornful at them for what Yang did. If it weren't for us accompanying and staying close to her, she would have been harassed on sight. Nobody wanted to have some serious beef with us even if we are still getting along the leader of a team that was now deemed as controversial.

Ren and Nora went with Ruby to the seats while I went with Pyrrha on the way to the backstage so I could give her a few more minutes of company before splitting up.

"Here we go," Pyrrha muttered when we arrived by the entrance of the backstage.

"You did amazing last round. I'm sure you can do this," I alleviate her remaining doubts as she prepares for her next match.

"I know. I just couldn't shake off that feeling, you know?" I understand where she was coming from. You will always feel your adrenaline pump hard before a battle no matter how prepared you are especially if its for a major fight.

"Just remember that we're proud of you no matter what."

She smiled and leaned forward to give me a short, sweet and chaste kiss. "Thank you. For everything."

I paused and blushed as we looked at each other for a few more seconds. "Good luck."

I locked my gaze unto her as she was entering the backstage. I was about to turn around and walk away when I saw Ruby rushing towards us with her semblance.

"Pyrrha, wait!" she yelled, grabbing Pyrrha's attention as well, making her turn back to her. "There's something I need to tell you first. It's very important!"

Pyrrha raised a brow. "What is it?"

"I really can't tell you here! We need to talk in private," she panted.

"Why's that?" I took my turn to ask, confused by the abrupt commotion which I wouldn't hear about.

"There's no time to explain! Would you mind if I borrow Pyrrha for a second?"

I wasn't sure about this especially since I didn't know what was this all about and why was this so sudden but had no reason not to trust Ruby. "Alright. If that's what you want." I answered before turning, "Pyrrha, you're okay with this right?"

"It's okay. There's still time. We're not really in a rush."

"Oh, thank goodness. I'm really sorry. I know this all of a sudden but you really need to hear this," Ruby meekly apologized

"It's fine, don't worry. If it's that urgent, then let's not waste any more time," Pyrrha said, turning to me before following Ruby. "You go on ahead, we'll be alright."

I nodded as I watch them leave, still wondering what was that all about but it was none of my business so I simply shrugged it off.

Arriving at the seats, I sat beside Ren and Nora. Ruby appeared a few minutes later, taking a deep breath, making me guess that her talk with Pyrrha went better than she expected.

It was still bothering me for a bit so I decided to ask her about it. "So what was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing," she briefly avoided my gaze. "I just realize something and I thought I should tell her about it."

That still didn't satisfy me so I kept asking her about it. I admit I came off looking rather nosy. "Mind giving me a hint?"

"Sorry, it's confidential. I mean _really_ confidential," she insisted. "Maybe I should tell you one day."

"Alright then." There was no reason for me to question her trust, and the tournament was going live.

The Vytal logo appeared before us at the screen but before the tournament officially resumed, the camera cut to General Ironwood making an announcement concerning the recent disruptions. I remember him blinking only once during the beginning of his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are aware that you have all been appalled by the recent incident that some of you may have some questions regarding our contestants, not helped by an earlier incident where we are forced to take drastic measures to prevent another attack. While we understand the concerns, the tournament will continue as planned. The tournament is no stranger to incidents like these, and has been present since the first tournament, **[1]** but has those disruptions ever stopped the event? No. The tournament hasn't been stopped then and we will not stop now. We refuse to let this be remembered as a dark day. We are here to put aside our differences and show how far we had come since The Great War. Always know that friendship and unity will always conquer fear and hate. So let us continue and that we may all forget about our troubles in favor of something wonderful. May you all have a pleasant evening."

Gotta admit the general does know how to make a speech. By that point, everyone has seemed to forget about what Yang did and focus on the next fight for the tournament.

"Now with that out of the way, let us continue the final round of the Vytal Tournament!" Professor Port announced as the audience cheered. "Here are our contestants!"

The six remaining contestants were elevated to the stage as they get ready for the following battle.

"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Doctor Oobleck declared as the selection of the fighters began shuffling.

"It looks like our first contender is…" Professor Port observed the roulette before the first contestant was chosen. "Penny Polendina from Atlas!"

The randomization continues. "And her opponent will be..." The audience excitedly gaped at the next slot until it finally stopped. "Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Pyrrha vs Penny, huh? This will be interesting, I thought as an exuberant cheer was heard from every side of the arena as they eagerly await the battle between these two redheaded powerhouses.

"Go Penny! Go Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted cheerfully. I was delighted to know that she was going to be happy regardless of who wins.

Or that's what I thought at least.

I could notice her still shaken up about something, but I thought it was just me so I didn't think about it too much.

"Heck yeah, give me some of that PvP **[2]**!" Nora rejoiced, jumping from her seat while her partner can only force such an exclamation.

"Yay."

The battle began shortly after the other contestants left the stage. I closely watch as Penny remotely swings her flying blades before sending them towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha flipped forward, blocking the blades with her shield while on the way.

As Pyrrha was in close proximity to her opponent, she put her shield at her back and began swinging her spear. Penny efficiently dodged them while homing her blades back toward her. Pyrrha flipped away from the blades from coming from her behind before she thrust herself back to Penny.

Penny continuously gestured her blades at Pyrrha as the latter deflects them by spinning her spear. This was one of the few times I saw Pyrrha struggling as she was dealing with an opponent she has never faced before. Pyrrha flipped back after avoiding another hurl of blades from Penny. She stormed towards her, leaping on one of the blades flying toward her. As Pyrrha was hurling herself towards her, she attempted to make a vertical slash, only for Penny's blades gather together and block it.

"My word what a tremendous display by Miss Polendina!" Professor Port commentated as the fight went on, with Penny throwing her blades at Pyrrha, pushing her back.

Nora was enthusiastically cheering. "Whoa, yeah, go Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha used her magnetism to roll her shield to her arm. Aside from that, I noticed that Pyrrha never once used her semblance during the fight. I figured that she was saving it for later. After all, she never really used her semblance unless it was absolutely necessary. Penny's weaponry and fighting style were perfect for Pyrrha's semblance to use against. Just look at what it did to Umi during that one fight in combat class.

While I was trying to watch what would happen next, I felt a strange sensation on my head. My vision suddenly blurred for a second. I looked around, trying to process what just happened and spotted Weiss at the nearest entryway waving at me. Just me directly; it didn't look like she was trying to get the other's attention, not even her partner's. Confused, I rubbed my eyes and saw her gesturing me to come to her before she walked away.

This seemed very important and I needed to figure out what she was doing in Amity Arena because I thought she stayed back in Beacon along with Blake. As much as I didn't want to miss something crucial in Pyrrha's fight, I knew she'd be fine (or I thought she would be) and that this shouldn't take too long.

So I carefully stood up and headed out, others were too engrossed with the fight to notice me leave. When I exited the arena, I saw that the corridor was empty. Scanning around, Weiss was nowhere to be found.

Strange, I thought. Just as when I was about to think that it must be all in my head—I felt something coming close to me from my behind.

I instinctively grabbed the arm behind me and saw Cinder's teammate—Nico trying to stab the back of my neck with a short syringe. Before I could react any further, she dropped the syringe, catching it with her other hand and injected it on my left arm.

I tried retaliating by turning back and swinging my fist at her. She swept from my back, moving to my front. I felt the sedatives starting to take effect and I couldn't do anything but barely look at Nico smiling sinisterly at me as my consciousness slowly fades.

The next I knew was that I became dazed enough that I fell on my back. Nico walked to my head, staring at me. She leaned close to my face as she shut her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes became mismatched, turning from green to brown and pink before giving me a wink. Upon seeing that, it took me a few seconds to figure out that she was the Neapolitan Butcher all long and that she was able to trick me into coming to her and putting me to sleep. I always suspected it to be the case but I thought I was only being paranoid over a girl who happened to be short and silent.

That was the last thing I saw before finally passing out.

 **=o=**

1\. _In fact, Yang's apparent assault on Mercury was rather mild compared to most of the incidents that occurred during previous tournaments; ranging from riots to unauthorized shootouts and even lethal accidents. Among them was the incident occurred at the very first Vytal Festival, where one of the contestants was accidentally killed during a match. This was largely due to most of the rules not being fully established at the time._

2\. _An acronym for 'Player vs. Player' a term used in gaming while Nora is using it to refer to the first letter of Penny and Pyrrha's given names._

* * *

 **One down, only two more chapters to go. Recent updates have been slow due to work and other things IRL; this chapter ended up being longer than expected when it was only supposed to cover a date and a couple of matches that didn't involve Jaune. Well, I guess things are just not as simple as they seem. But since the next chapter will cover an event that takes in a single night, it should be relatively shorter and a lot more straightforward, similar to earlier chapters in this fic, I hope.**

 **Some of you may be shocked or confused at the sudden inclusion of the Warp and The Chaos Gods from Warhammer in this story. Let me inform you that this, along with most of the story was planned from the start (and no that's not me taking a page out of CRWBY's book, I'm actually being serious about this.) The first chapter of this fic was published in August of 2018, back when Salem's origins and motivations against Ozpin were unknown. When V6 finally revealed information about Salem (and Jaune's family to an extent), I only have to make a few adjustments to the story while I continue following my own ideas. A few chapters subtlety foreshadowed Chaos and Salem's possible connection to it, though I admit, they were too subtle that even if you are familiar with Warhammer Lore, you likely didn't notice them. Eh, what's done is done, I suppose. You get what I'm trying to do, so please just bear with it.**

 **If you're not familiar with Warhammer (40k or Fantasy) and/or it's elements, fret not, most of the characters are unaware of these things either and they'll often be explained just so you won't be lost. Rest assured that you don't need to be a fan of Warhammer to enjoy this story.**

 **This decision was so that the fic can become more distinct from the other stories that follow the show's plotline by making the Warhammer elements more apparent rather than just putting some references to it while basing the story's idea from Ciaphas Cain. Speaking of which, this story should stop following the show's plotline by the time the you-know-what is done.**

 **While I'm taking some elements from 40k such as The Warp and using it as a name for the Realm of Chaos; and that the fic's main premise is inspired from a novel series that takes place in that universe, the Chaos Gods here are more based on their Warhammer Fantasy incarnations. In fact, the idea for this was that the Chaos Gods from fantasy are actually invading Remnant's Realm after they successfully destroyed The Warhammer World during The End Times. The reason for this was because the Chaos Gods in fantasy were only a threat to a single world while 40k's Chaos Gods were galaxy-wide horrors. So to be a bit fair to our heroes, I pitted them against a relatively less-powerful version of Chaos.**

 **And that's all I could say at the moment. I hoped you enjoyed. Since the Coronavirus is getting worse by the time of this writing, I do hope you stay safe as well.**

 **And also to make it more accessible and since not everyone has a Spotify Account, the playlist is now YouTube:**

 **(youtube,com / playlist?list=PLx-5liPQvheIpI_fglcpwH-rVE4CkOJVw)**


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